Edge of The Damage (The Trouble Finds You Chronicle: Book 2)
by ADaughterOfWords
Summary: Lyra Crowe has been signed with NXT for almost a year and has reunited with her now turned boyfriend, Aleister Black. Their relationship has grown stronger and closer, but as a new chapter opens- Lyra and Aleister find themselves dealing with not so adoring fans, a drug addiction in Lyra's family, and on top of it all- Devon's retribution. Love comes with a price, you know...
1. Chapter 1: The World Is Yours

(Song: "The World Is Yours" by Arch Enemy. Hi, how are ya? Welcome back, my lovely Lyrister supporters. Welcome to Edge of The Damage! There's a lot of crazy things happening and I hope you stick around and enjoy them. I'll see you guys later. Much love. xx -TM.)

_NXT TakeOver: Phoenix- January 26th, 2019_.

"You look st-unning, bitch," I listen to my friend, Jeffree Star as he's doing my makeup for this TakeOver- Jeffree flew in to do my makeup looks for this weekend because I'm going to be at TakeOver and I'm making my debut in the Royal Rumble in the women's match- we've known each other for a few years now and whenever I need makeup, I always turn to him for his best advice. "You're about to destroy this TakeOver with your looks."

He decided to experiment with his new palette that he has coming out, he didn't tell me what the name of it is but he did put some blue metallic eyeshadow on me and followed it up with "Celebrity Skin" on my lips. I had my hair in fishtail braids.

I wore a deep ribbed V-Neck black crop top from Nasty Gal with the "Viper" lace up leggings from Killstar and to compete the outfit- the Calista boots from Killstar too.

I'm accompanying Aleister for his match tonight against Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT title.

Jeffree finishes my makeup with the setting spray and waves it with a hand so my makeup will stay.

As I get out of the makeup chair, that's when I see Aleister walk by. He sees me and smiles.

In a child-like manner, I put my hands out. Aleister chuckles, taking my hands in his own, his fingers intertwining with mine and bringing me to him. With his thumb, he lifts my chin and kisses me softly.

"You're both so cute, I'm gagging," Jeffree says and I break away from Aleister, laughing. Aleister raises a brow.

"Aleister, meet Jeffree Star," I say. "Jeffree and I have known each other for a few years. I flew him out to do my makeup this weekend. And Jeffree, this is my boyfriend- Aleister Black."

"So you're the guy that Lyra's been hooking up with?" Jeffree responds. "Well, you're definitely fuckable- that's for sure."

"Jeffree," I mutter as I blush and Aleister laughs.

"Come on. I know a hot guy when I see one." Jeffree tells me. "Your boyfriend would make Nate run for his money."

Aleister looks at me. "Nate?"

"Jeffree's boyfriend," I tell him. Aleister nods, understanding him a little bit more.

I kiss Aleister once more before I'm called to film a scene for the pre-show between myself and Zelina, Aleister's ex. I was dreading this moment because for the last few weeks, Zelina has targeted me on Twitter to a point where even Jeffree had to step in and get her off my back.

But what's different about this scene is- Jeffree is going to make his special guest appearance on NXT. Jeffree looks nervous but I reassure him to just act like he does on YouTube and be brutally honest but don't take it too far.

Zelina and I start arguing and then right when I'm about to smack the taste out of her mouth, Jeffree shows up. He puts himself between me and Zelina.

"Hi, how are ya?" Jeffree says as he extends a hand for her to shake, he pulls it back. "I'm Jeffree Star and you don't need to bother introducing yourself to me, Little Miss Thing. But I'm here to warn you. When Mama Star is here, you need to stay in your place. Because if you don't stay in your place, I'll make your life a living hell. Understood?"

Zelina glares at both of us and then she stomps off.

"See ya, crazy!" I say and Jeffree snorts before laughing and I laugh too as the cameras fade.

After that segment and about an hour or so, Aleister and I are ready for his match against Tommaso. We head to the curtain, hand in hand until Aleister goes out to his pedestal- I twirl my promise ring on my finger as I wait to go out the curtain. At the beginning guitar riff, I head out to stand on the ramp.

Aleister rises from his pedestal and then he walks over to me, we exchange glances and then we walk together. I follow him as he walks up the steps to the ring and he flips over the rope, sitting Indian style in the ring, he looks around before standing. I stand in the corner, where he actually sees me and he settles near the turnbuckle by me, sitting Indian style.

I hear a flat tone and I jump back at the sound- the noise scaring me as a flashback comes to me of Devon, when he had cut me up with the knives on my ribcage- my blood dripping on the kitchen floor. Ambulance sirens. The tone of the machines as I was taken into the emergency room.

I gasp and I'm brought back to Phoenix where I'm with Aleister before his NXT title match. Ciampa's on the apron.

"Lyra? Breathe, liefde." I hear Aleister's voice as I see him- knelt down in front of me. "Baby. Focus on me, Little Crow."

"Damn it," I whisper. "Why must he still live in my head?"

"He's not here, Little Crow." Aleister murmurs. "It's not real."

I close my eyes- getting myself together as Aleister kisses my forehead. He slips his vest off his shoulders and he drapes it across mine, to comfort me- allowing his scent to help calm me down. I smile at the gesture and kiss his cheek before he goes back inside the ring.

"_The following contest is scheduled for one fall and is for the NXT Championship._ _Introducing first, the challenger. Accompanied by Athena Steele- from Amsterdam, Holland, weighing in at 215 pounds, Aleister Black_!"

Aleister looks around and I hear the audience cheer. He sees me standing in the corner and he becomes more focused knowing that I'm there.

"_And his opponent- from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he is the NXT Champion- Tommaso Ciampa!_"

Aleister stands in the corner and he watches Tommaso as he moves back to his corner. The lights turn on as the bell rings for the match to start. Aleister immediately starts to go after Tommaso.

I watch as they are outside of the ring and Tommaso pushes Aleister and they both go back inside, I watch as Tommaso slaps Aleister in the face and Aleister tosses Tommaso down by the waist.

Tommaso tosses Aleister to the ground and goes after his arm. He keeps it going until Aleister tosses him to the ground and keeps him locked to the ground.

"Come on, Shadow," I say- getting my voice together. Tommaso breaks free and tries to get him in the Fairy Tale Ending and Aleister ducks and tosses him back to the ground, keeping his lock on him.

Aleister starts to strike Tommaso until he hits the ropes and slides out of the ring, Aleister runs to jump but does his backflip instead until Tommaso heads back in and Aleister tries to kick him but Tommaso falls on his back, nearly avoiding the kick.

Tommaso continues to stare at him until Aleister sits Indian style across from him, the crowd cheers. I start to applaud as well until Tommaso hits Aleister in the face with his boot, catching him by surprise.

Aleister is tossed into the ropes by Tommaso and then he springs off of them and then he tosses Tommaso out again until Tommaso gets back up and Aleister grabs him off the apron.

Tommaso falls back down and Aleister launches himself onto Tommaso, taking him out. When he landed, he tweaked his leg.

"You okay?" I yell and Aleister looks at me. He nods before bringing Tommaso back inside the ring.

I watch as a few minutes pass by and Tommaso gets out of the ring- done with the match it seems. Until he pulls Aleister out of the ring and Aleister kicks him down. Tommaso looks at me and then smashes Aleister's knee against the steel and then tosses him over the steps.

I race over to Aleister's side to check on him and as I do, Tommaso slowly approaches. I stand up and move in front of my hurt boyfriend, ready to fight.

"Take one more step and there's a Death's Scythe with your name on it, you bloody creep." I hiss through my teeth at Tommaso. Tommaso smirks and then he turns to the crowd, and I hear booing.

Aleister starts to stand and I try to help as much as I can to get him inside the ring. Tommaso starts attacking Aleister's leg and I hear him scream in agony.

I shudder as I hear Aleister's screams when Tommaso continues to aim for that leg of his. And Tommaso is that twisted that he bashed Aleister's knee against the announce table. I watch as he applauds himself and then sits Indian style on the table.

I've had enough. When the referee isn't looking- I hit Tommaso with Death's Scythe, the kick is strong that it knocks him off the announce table.

"Athena Steele using her Death's Scythe to Tommaso Ciampa! The NXT Champion is reeling from the kick!" I hear the announcers say.

"I told you, you bloody creep. You didn't listen!" I growl as I beckon for Aleister to get up.

But as Tommaso is trying to recover from Death's Scythe, he grabs a water bottle to drink and Aleister kicks it out of his hand, water exploding onto the mats outside.

Aleister tries to stand and go back inside the ring until Tommaso hits his leg again, causing him to fall.

As the match goes on, Tommaso tries to hit Aleister with Fairy Tale Ending but Aleister counters and they keep countering each other until Aleister tries to pin him with his suplex but Tommaso kicks out.

Aleister tries to lift Tommaso's head up with his leg until he slips. Tommaso takes advantage and gets him in a Boston Crab. Aleister screams in agony until I jump up onto the apron to distract Tommaso. Tommaso stands and tries to step to me.

"Now, Shadow!" I say and when Tommaso turns around, Aleister hits him with a Black Mass but when he lands to pin him, Tommaso kicks out at 2.

Tommaso throws Aleister back outside and throws him into the steel again. I grit my teeth when Aleister tries to recover and get back up, he slips in the water on the outside. And Tommaso hits him with Fairy Tale Ending and Aleister kicks out at two. I bite down on my black nails- nervous as ever.

"He's not going to beat me, Athena and you know it!" Tommaso snarls at me. He slides out of the ring and he tries to go for the mat- to pull it up but I stand on it. Tommaso pushes me to the ground and pulls the mat up.

I see Aleister start to get even more angry knowing that he touched me and he launches himself, hitting him with both of his knees on the concrete. Aleister gets Tommaso into the ring and hits him with another Black Mass.

Aleister tries to pin him but Tommaso turns over, saving himself from losing.

"You son of a bitch," I mutter. "You bloody wanker."

Tommaso tries to hit him with another Fairy Tale Ending but Aleister kicks out again. My jaw dropped because even I couldn't even believe it.

"Come on, Aleister!" I scream. "Come on, baby."

After two more Fairy Tale Endings- it's over. Tommaso beat Aleister. I growl and I go inside the ring. I don't even care. I start kicking Tommaso with my boot- the spikes on them digging into his flesh.

"You bastard. You're going to pay for this!" I snarl.

Tommaso grabs his title and starts to leave the ring, with a wicked grin on his face. I stay by Aleister's side.

"Aleister," I say. Aleister gets his breath back and he looks at me- as defeated and winded as he looks, he smiles and cups my cheek. I smile and put my hand over his.

"I love you, Little Crow," Aleister says. "You did the best you could for me. Thank you."

"I love you too, Shadow." I murmur.

"Come here," Aleister whispers as he sits up and he kisses me softly. The audience is in complete shock as well as the announcers.

"Did you know that Athena is Aleister's girlfriend?" I hear the announcers saying.

"I didn't even know they were dating."

_Surprise_. I thought as Aleister and I break apart- I help Aleister go back to the locker room.

"That was a bold move," Jeffree says as he greets us backstage. "Telling the world that you both are together."

"We're happy where we are in our relationship," Aleister says as he kisses my temple. "The world deserves to know."

"Good for you," Jeffree tells him. "If you guys are together, you might as well show it on screen too."

Aleister nods in agreement as we get ready to change and get ready for tomorrow, which is the Royal Rumble.


	2. Chapter 2: The Glory and The Scum

(Song: The Glory and The Scum by Delain. I'm so glad to be back in this world with Little Crow and Shadow. I know you guys are too. This sequel is going to be a hell of a ride so I hope you're ready! xx -TM)

_Royal Rumble- January 27th, 2019_.

_"Aleister Black and Athena Steele confirm their relationship last night_ _at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix_"

_"Athena Steele and Aleister Black_ _are in fact a couple- dating rumors are_ _true"_

I sigh as I read along the articles on Twitter on my phone, seeing the world react to our relationship because of that kiss last night at TakeOver.

As I scroll through my phone and I read, I notice tweets. Some of them aren't the nicest.

_"He's with her? I was expecting him_ _to do better than that_."

"_Eh. He's probably using her. She_ _doesn't mean anything to him."_

A tear falls down my cheek and Jeffree notices as he's doing my makeup for my debut in the Women's Royal Rumble tonight.

"Lyra? Honey, what's wrong?" Jeffree asks, his eyes looking sad as he rests his hand on my shoulder.

I shake my head- staying silent, refusing to say anything.

"Do you want me to get Aleister?" Jeffree tells me. I nod. "Okay. Hang on, babe."

"Aleister!" Jeffree yells and Aleister races over to me and Jeffree. "Lyra's crying."

Aleister kneels down in front of me, his eyes soft and loving. His hand caresses my face.

"Little Crow? What's the matter, liefde?" Aleister murmurs as he pulls me into his arms. "Sh. What's going on? Why are you crying?"

I sniff and blink away my tears so I can see him better. Aleister rests his forehead on mine.

"Just receiving the aftermath of when we announced our relationship last night, Shadow." I say. "And most of it isn't friendly."

"Lyra," Aleister murmurs. "Don't listen to them. They'll never know what our relationship really is like. They'll never know how you and I feel about each other. And that's fine because you know I love you. I love you with everything that I am."

He takes my hand in his own and his hand squeezes mine softly.

"I love you too, Aleister." I whisper. "And I shouldn't have listened. You're right. I'm sorry."

"Liefje, there is nothing that you have to apologize for." Aleister kisses my forehead.

"He has a point, Lyra." Jeffree says. "I kept Nate in the shadows for months until I felt ready to show him to the cameras when I started YouTube. Whatever people say, they don't know the love that you both share. And let them believe what they want. At the end of the day, you have something they'll never get. Which is the love that this boy has for you."

I nod and Aleister kisses me softly- comforting me and I smile at his affection. My arms wrap around him and I kiss him deeper until Jeffree clears his throat.

"Alright. Stop trying to fuck in my makeup chair," Jeffree rolls his eyes. "I need to finish her makeup, Aleister."

He pulls away from me and looks over at Jeffree. "I mean, we could- if that's what you're suggesting." Aleister says in a sarcastic manner and I giggle.

"Oh, Jesus take the wheel," Jeffree mutters and we both start laughing. Aleister holds me close in his arms and then he kisses my head.

"Only you and I have a say in our relationship. No one else," Aleister's hand rubs my back. "Remember that, Little Crow. Not even the world has a say about you and I. Only we do."

"And if they do, I'll always be ready to clap back at their stupidity." Jeffree takes my other hand. "I got you both, Lyra."

"Thank you for being such a good friend to her, Jeffree," Aleister says. "I appreciate you."

"Of course, Aleister." Jeffree nods, patting Aleister's shoulder. "She's practically my little sister. And if she's in love with someone who cares about her or has been as devoted to her as much as you have, especially after the Devon fiasco and people start tossing their shit at the both of you, I'm always going to step in. It's my nature to defend the people I love."

I smile because it makes me happy seeing one of my dearest friends and my boyfriend getting along. After feeling better, Aleister kisses me once more and he says that he'll be watching me during the match later.

"Now that lover boy's out of here and y'all are done sucking face, I can finally finish your makeup. Jesus Christ." Jeffree says and I laugh.

"Thank you for what you said earlier," I tell him as he uses his MAC primer on my eyes. "Aleister and I really do appreciate you being here."

"Lyra, you're my family and Aleister is too because I know how much he loves you," Jeffree responds. "That boy almost took a bullet for you- that's fucking commitment right there. Of course he's going to be a part of my family for that."

Jeffree hugs me and I smile- thankful for his friendship. He uses his Alien palette for my eyes and he uses his shade 'Triggered' on my lips and he uses the shade "Frozen Gold" from his Northern Lights palette and mixes it with 'Sarcophagus' from his 24 Karat palette to make my highlight on my cheeks and the shine is blinding.

And then he uses the setting spray and then I'm ready for my hair to be done, which will only be me getting a ponytail. But attached to the ponytail are two charms in my hair- a crow and a black cat. (Little Crow and Shadow)

When it's time for the match, I quickly change into my gear- which is my black PVC top and matching leggings- I drape my vest over my shoulders and I wear Aleister's Unholy hat on my head. I zip up my boots and I race down to the curtain because I'm coming out after Zelina (how ironic?). I put my black PVC fingerless gloves on and I wait.

"You got this, Little Crow. I love you," I turn and I see Aleister standing by the monitor in his "Devil's Blood" tee and his gear. I nod and I blow him a kiss.

_5\. 4. 3. 2. 1... _

I take a deep breath and I go through the curtain as my music plays, I hear the audience cheer as I head down to the ring.

"It's Athena Steele. Aleister Black's girlfriend! What is she doing here?" I hear the announcers and make an attempt not to roll my eyes. _Well, it's better we announced it than having the dirt_ _sheets saying it for us_. I thought as I get into the ring.

Zelina notices me first and she's seething. She walks over to me and starts running her mouth. I roll my eyes as I listen to her banter.

"I assume you still haven't learned anything from Jeffree," I say. "But you know, that's fine- cause I'll do this."

I hit Zelina with a Death's Scythe and the kick knocks her to the floor. And as this happens, Zelina slips under the ring.

I shrug and pay no attention to it as I start eliminating people. Candice, however is happy to see me and we hug and start working together until I hear a scream. I look over and I see that Hornswoggle is under the ring with Zelina. I snort- trying not to laugh.

Until he starts chasing her, that alone makes me laugh hysterically. I tap Candice on the shoulder and I point at the ramp where Zelina's running off with him behind her.

"That was the best," I say as I keep my laughter together.

As great as this much is, I was then eliminated by Rhea Ripley and when I stood up- Rhea offers me a sincere smile.

"No hard feelings, Reaper," She says. "You have my respect though."

"Thank you, Nightmare." I say. I walk back up the ramp, slipping Aleister's hat back on my head as I do. Aleister's waiting for me when I walk back through the curtain. I smile and I wrap my arms around my boyfriend and he holds me to him.

"I'm proud of you, Lyra," Aleister says as he holds me close, he lifts my chin up and kisses me. Once. Twice.

"Thank you, Shadow," I smile.

We kiss again and we catch up to Jeffree, who's recovering from a laughing fit. I raise a brow and he regains his breath.

"Seems like everyone is after that cheap bitch," Jeffree says, in regards to Zelina being chased by Hornswoggle. Aleister and I look at each other and laugh.

The three of us just chill and watch the rest of the show- Aleister has his arms around me and he would sneak kisses here and there, making me smile.

When it was time for the men's Royal Rumble- Aleister breaks away from me and goes to get ready. He takes his "Devil's Blood" tee off and slips his vest on.

Jeffree and I watch on the monitors backstage as Aleister stands behind the curtain. I quickly kiss him on the cheek. Aleister looks over and smiles at me- kissing my hand before he leaves.

I watch as he goes out to the ring, taking out people automatically with his springboard moonsault off the second rope. Until Pete Dunne, being Pete Dunne- breaks Aleister's finger. Jeffree screams as do I.

"Oh My God! Ew!" Jeffree says as we both cringe watching Aleister pop his finger back in place. And then Baron Corbin eliminates him.

Aleister comes backstage and I embrace him. Immediately, I take his hand and I inspect it, making sure it's not really hurt. Aleister chuckles and he cups my face with the same hand.

"I'm fine, Little Crow," Aleister murmurs. "I was just selling it."

I take a breath in relief as I nod and he kisses my forehead, Jeffree starts packing up his makeup.

"This was such a great weekend," Jeffree says. "Thank you both for inviting me out here and being able to watch you work but I gotta take off- early flight tomorrow morning. And Aleister, you killed it out there, honey."

"Thank you, Jeffree," Aleister says as I hug Jeffree goodbye and Aleister embraces Jeffree as well.

"I'll see you guys later," Jeffree waves at us. "And Aleister, take care of Lyra for me."

"Always," Aleister kisses my temple and holds me close.

All I wanted now was to go to the next hotel and lay in bed with my man. Nothing else mattered now.

(Uh-oh. Seems Lyra's starting to crumble under the pressure of putting her relationship with Aleister out to the world now... -TM)


	3. Chapter 3: Shut Up

(Song: "Shut Up" by New Years Day, which is the next single that Lyra releases off her upcoming record, Unbreakable and this song is her way of addressing all of the people who aren't as adoring towards her and Aleister's relationship- the single being made, as well as Aleister's debut on Raw and SD Live. Enjoy. xx -TM)

_Monday Night Raw- February 18th, 2019_.

_So, who's betting on Aleister dumping Athena? _

_Honestly, Aleister should have stayed with Zelina. _

I grit my teeth and I close my phone and lock it, setting it on the table at catering and I rub my temples and frustration.

I'm tired of being the target of these bloody people who have nothing better to do than be ignorant instead of actually living their lives. And they've gone as far as threatening my life and body shaming me, telling me that I'm only with Aleister for the money and etc.

It's not my fault that I fell in love with someone and we're happy enough that we wanted to share our love with the world. And now, I'm being tossed into backlash.

"Lyra?" I look up and I see Aleister, I sigh as he walks over and holds me in his arms. I'm so angry, I'm shaking and Aleister notices that something's up. "Little Crow? Hey. Calm down. What's bothering you so much?"

I unlock my phone and I show him all the posts, the messages and the tweets- the trolling against us and our relationship. Aleister takes my phone and as he continues to scroll the comments, he starts cursing in Dutch.

_We can destroy them all, Athena._ I hear The Reaper's voice as I try not to cry because I'm enraged.

"Don't leave me, Shadow," I blurt out. Aleister looks taken back from what I said- he cups my face in both of his hands.

"What? Lyra, I'm not leaving you." Aleister murmurs. The tears escape then, falling down my cheeks.

"But you will at some point because of my insanity," I mutter. "I know you will."

"Little Crow. Stop it," Aleister's voice takes on a more assertive tone. "You're not insane. I know you aren't. Do you really think I would just walk away after everything I've done for you? I almost took a bullet for you because I refused to let that sick bastard hurt you. There's no way in hell I'll just toss away my love for you."

"Why can't the world just accept reality and leave our relationship alone?" I whisper. Aleister's eyes soften and he holds me closer.

"Baby, you're letting them get to you." Aleister whispers as he wipes my tears away with his thumb. "You're letting them affect you like this. I love you for who you are, Lyra. I told you last night, no one has a say for how you and I feel about each other. No one does. Now, as stupid and ignorant as the world can be, they're not going to break us apart and you know that."

"I wish the world would just shut up about us," I say. Aleister nods in agreement as he kisses the top of my head.

_Wait. That's it_. Immediately, a spark of inspiration hits me and I pull away from my boyfriend, I reach into my bag for my notebook full of lyrics.

I start writing the lyrics as soon as they come to mind. In an hour, the song is fully written with inspiration from artists like Nicki Minaj and Kehlani. I grin at my finished work and couldn't wait to get to the studio and get it out to the world.

"Lyra?" I hear Aleister's voice and I turn to him with the same grin on my face.

"I think I found a solution that'll get them to stop talking about us once and for all," I say. I hand him my notebook with my new single "Shut Up" written inside. Aleister takes it from my hand and he reads the lyrics. He smirks and hands it back to me before pulling me close.

"That's my Little Crow," He says and I smile. "They'll never know what we've managed to get through together. And what you wrote is enough to show them that they picked the wrong damn fight."

I wrap my arm around his neck and I kiss him softly. His hand caresses my back.

This week, Aleister is making his Raw and SmackDown Live debut. Alongside Ricochet, Tommaso and Gargano. I won't be able to be in his corner because I haven't been called up yet.

Which hurts because Aleister and I have been on screen together for the last year now.

Aleister's hand lifts my chin up because he could see that I'm hurt that I won't be out there.

"I will always carry you with me," Aleister says. "No matter what. I know it's painful that you won't be there for my debut, but at least you're here to see it. I love you."

"I love you too," I whisper.

Aleister's debut match on Raw is against Elias. Aleister is supposed to come out and interrupt him.

I stay close to the monitors as Aleister gets ready to go out to his pedestal. When he comes out, I notice that he hardly gets a reaction from the audience even as he did his entrance, spoke on the mic and even was in his match with Elias.

It left a bitter taste in my mouth and I cross my arms as I watched the monitor.

When Aleister won, I saw him sitting Indian style in the middle of the ring and I see that he looks around, confused. He was expecting a pop from the crowd and got nothing. It broke my heart.

I watch him come backstage and he walks past me- I could see that he's fuming because he's so livid. I follow him back to the locker room and pause at the door where I could hear smashing and crashing.

I stand outside of the door and I wait for him to calm down- the door opens and I see Aleister, his face's red but he's calmer than he was earlier.

"I fucking told them. I told them that the audience was dead tonight! I looked like a goddamn fool out there!" Aleister growls.

"Shadow. Calm down," I say as I slowly approach with my hands up in the air. "These things happen sometimes."

Aleister's face becomes softer and he moves to gather me in his arms- my head resting against his chest, I could feel his chest heaving heavily. I smirk against his skin and close my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Little Crow," Aleister speaks after a second of holding me to him and allowing me to calm him down some more- he strokes my hair. "Usually these types of things don't usually bother me. But something about tonight did."

"Oh, Shadow. Don't apologize. It's not your fault and you're not the only one who had that happen to." I say softly as I cup his cheek in my hand as I bring up Gargano, Tommaso and Ricochet's debuts tonight as well. "If anything, it's the crowd's fault for not giving you the reaction that you expected. They shouldn't have gotten the surprise of having you debut tonight."

"This is one of those times where I actually agree with you, Reaper," I hear Tommaso's voice and I see him and Gargano standing nearby.

"That's reassuring," I say with a nod.

Ricochet looks over at the both of us with an apologetic look because of what happened. Aleister nods and that reassures him that it it's isn't his fault.

I look back over at Aleister and I see that he's calmed down. I kiss him on the cheek and he smiles.

_NOLA Recording Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana- February 19th, 2019._

_"Don't feed me lies_

_I'll chew them up and spit em out  
Don't try and tell me what a girl wants  
Shut up and give it to me_

_If you really give a fuck about me  
You'd shut up and give it to me  
Shut your mouth and let me speak_

_If you really give a fuck about me  
You'd shut up and give it to me  
Don't try and tell me what a girl wants  
Shut up and give it to me..."_

I step back from the microphone in the recording booth to applause. I look over and I see Aleister and the producer of my single, Michael Harvey standing with smiles on their face.

I had to go to a recording studio early in the morning before we go to SmackDown Live because I needed to get this single made and out to the world because I had to respond to everyone who has said something not as admiring about our relationship.

After speaking with Michael privately about Shut Up, he told me that he'll mix it and have it ready to release in the next week or two- and he'll reach out to all the steaming sites for music to release it.

"I've never been proud of my girlfriend as I am right now," Aleister says. I smile and I blow him a kiss as I slip the headphones off and put them back against the microphone.

"And I've never been more happy to have such a supportive man," I tell him as I walk away from the booth. I wrap my arm around Aleister's neck and I kiss him. Aleister wraps his arm around my waist and holds me to him for a second. "Thank you, Shadow."

Aleister kisses my forehead and we leave the studio so we can go to SmackDown Live. For his SmackDown Live debut, Aleister is going against Andrade, who happens to be managed by Zelina Vega. Which is not awkward at all.

I wear a black bodysuit, jeans and the Killstar "Capella" lace top with my "Enchant Me" creepers from Killstar too. I won't be out there but I'll be watching.

When Aleister makes his entrance for the match, I hear an actual pop from the audience which makes me breathe a sigh of relief.

And Aleister actually beats Andrade as well to a positive response from the crowd too. Which makes me happy. But I could tell how awkward Aleister was feeling around Zelina- knowing their history from his letters.

When he comes through the curtain, I smile and embrace my boyfriend and I can see that he looks happier because of how good the crowd was to him.

He hugs me to him for a moment and kisses my hair. I let go of him and I turn to see Zelina standing next to me. I narrow my eyes and I stand in front of Aleister.

"What do you want? Because if you're going to run your mouth, I will use Death's Scythe and make sure it leaves a mark." I growl.

"Easy, Lyra. I just wanted to say, you both look really good together," Zelina says. I raise a brow and Aleister has a look of shock and confusion.

"Is this some kind of game you're playing, Zelina, or what?" I ask.

Zelina shakes her head. "No games, Lyra. I wanted to come talk to you and put everything past us and apologize. Because I was the one who made all the negative remarks about you both and took it too far."

"You did all this?" Aleister grits his teeth. "Did you not realize how badly that hurt Lyra? Hm? Did you, Thea?"

"I do now and I'm sorry, Tommy. Really." Zelina says and she looks almost hurt. I sigh. Damn me for giving some people a second chance.

Before Aleister could retort, I put my hand up- telling him I need a minute, he nods. I take a breath and I offer a hand shake to Zelina.

"I'm only giving you a second chance because I'm over our feud as well," I tell her. "But don't think for one second that if you say something negative about me or about Aleister- especially now that I know your history, I will make sure Jeffree gets the okay to shut you down. Understood?"

"Understood," She nods and I shake hands with her. "Thank you, Lyra."

"Call me Reaper. Or Crow. Whichever you prefer," I tell her as she nods and walks away with Andrade.

"Well, now I know where most of the negativity has been coming from," Aleister tells me. "I can't believe you forgave her, Little Crow."

"It's better now than never," I say. "Plus, if anybody else decides to trash us, I still have my song to defend us with."

"And that's why I love you," Aleister tells me- he kisses me softly. I smile and kiss him on the cheek.

"I love you too, Shadow," I whisper. I let him go so we can get ready to leave the arena and head to the hotel before we take our flight home tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4: Eye of The Storm

(Song: "Eye of The Storm" by September Mourning. So, here we have Halftime Heat, which I decided to have happen a little bit later instead of being straight at the start of February, but I hope you enjoy it anyways. Y'all take care. xx -TM)

_Halftime Heat- February 21st, 2019. _

_"Athena Steele claps back at haters, dirtsheets and defends relationship with Aleister Black in Nicki Minaj and Kehlani inspired single- "Shut Up". _

_"Athena Steele releases new song "Shut Up" in defense of her relationship with boyfriend Aleister Black" _

I grin happily knowing that Shut Up was the right solution. I'm hoping that now, everyone can get off of our back and stop talking about our relationship when it's only mine and Aleister's choice to talk about. Now that the tension is settled for now, I can focus on being out there for Aleister tonight for Halftime Heat, which will be nice to be back in his corner.

I'm wearing a Killstar "It Was Lit" off shoulder top with the "Temptation" pencil skirt with roses that have mouths on them, the "Savina" suspender belt and a pair of faux leather boots from Koi Footwear. I have my hair up in a braid.

It's going to be him, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream against Tommaso, Adam Cole and Gargano.

"That song that you made is awesome, doll face." I look over and see Velveteen Dream standing next to me. "I can see why Aleister's proud of you."

"Thanks, Dream." I say. "I had to. I'm tired of having people slander my relationship when all that happened was me falling in love with someone. But, the internet's the internet. They wanted to be ignorant to us and I had to respond."

"And the way you responded showed them that you're not fucking around. Which is something I admire, greatly."

I nod in thanks as Velveteen walks off and I smile. I am really proud of myself for defending Aleister and I. I feel arms around me and I jump, letting out a slight squeak sound. I hear laughter from behind me and I shake my head.

"Must you do that?! I almost had a heart attack, babe. Jerk." I turn and I push Aleister gently. He chuckles until he sees me pout at him. He catches his breath and with an amused look in his eye, he takes my hand and brings me to him.

"I'm sorry, Little Crow. I didn't mean to scare you but the timing was just right, I had to." Aleister presses a kiss to my forehead and I smile, wrapping my arms around his neck.

I shake my head at his antics and then he looks down, pretending to be hurt. I roll my eyes, giggling and I gesture for him to kiss me. He grins and kisses me softly.

"As cute as this moment is for the both of you, we gotta get out there." Ricochet says after clearing his throat. I grit my teeth and break away from Aleister, glaring at Ricochet- who has his hands up in surrender.

Aleister kisses my temple and he lets go of me, extending his hand to me. I take his hand and we get ready to go out there.

Before we do, I watched as Ricochet, Dream and Aleister are doing a video for NXT's IG and I had to keep my laughter under control as they were yelling and they kept hitting Aleister- who's expressions were priceless until Aleister shook his head and walked off toward me again and they followed, still being loud as ever.

Aleister and I head out first, me walking out first as the guitar riff plays and I stand on the ramp as Aleister gets off his pedestal. We start walking down together.

"_Introducing first, accompanied by Athena Steele- from Amsterdam, Netherlands, weighing in at 215 pounds, Aleister Black!_"

Aleister walks up the steps to the rope as I stand in the corner and he jumps over the rope and sits Indian style. I watch as Ricochet and Velveteen Dream come out following Aleister and I.

I'm quickly embraced by both before they head to the ring to join Aleister. Adam Cole comes out next and I hear booing from the crowd.

"Crow," Adam says to me.

"Cole," I say, rolling my eyes as he waits for Gargano and Tommaso to come out, Gargano comes out next.

"Hello, Reaper," Gargano says and I nod.

Tommaso comes out last and stands with Gargano and Adam Cole.

"Little Reaper," Tommaso says and I sigh and cross my arms.

"_Little_? It seems like that Death's Scythe at the last TakeOver is still getting to you because if I recall, I'm not_ little_, you bloody idiot." I mutter and it actually makes Adam laugh.

They all get into the ring and as the match begins, Ricochet is going first against Gargano. I stand next to the side of the apron that Aleister's standing on.

Ricochet takes Gargano down with a head scissors and drop kicks Gargano to the ground and I applaud. Gargano kicks Ricochet and then drags him over to tag Adam Cole in.

Ricochet makes it over to Aleister and tags him in- I watch as Aleister strikes Adam and tries to pin him but it's too early.

"Come on, Shadow," I say.

Aleister tries to pick Adam up until Tommaso tags himself in. Aleister and Tommaso start going after each other until Velveteen tags in and starts attacking Tommaso.

Tommaso tries to get Velveteen into the corner and he slips away and bends down and stares at Tommaso. The crowd cheers and I hear "NXT" chants. I smile at Velveteen's wittiness.

Until Tommaso kicks him- I watch as Velveteen rocks back and forth against the corner. And then he gets the upper hand on Tommaso- I see Aleister come in and he does his backflip off the rope and sits Indian style, Ricochet springs off the rope and superhero lands next to Aleister (A/N: If you get that reference, I love you. xx -TM) And Velveteen joins in, I start laughing.

_Fuck it_. I shrug and join in the fun as well. I jump off the apron and I do a backflip as well, and I take a bow in front of Tommaso, Gargano and Adam. Aleister watches me with a brow raised but smirks at me anyway.

"Yep, she's definitely your girlfriend, alright." Velveteen says to Aleister. Aleister chuckles in response.

"And she's one hell of a keeper." Aleister says- I blow him a kiss. Ricochet and Velveteen both agree.

I slip away from the rope as Adam, Tommaso and Gargano get back into the ring, letting Aleister, Ricochet and Velveteen fight them off. Velveteen gets taken out by Tommaso, Ricochet is too by Gargano and Aleister slips back to where he stands on the apron.

I walk over to Aleister's side, feeling lightheaded from being upside down. Tommaso applauds himself and pats himself on the back. I roll my eyes. Tommaso takes Velveteen down in the ring until Gargano hits him with a springboard spear.

Gargano tries to pin Velveteen but he kicks out and then tags Adam in and Adam starts going after him in the corner.

Adam then takes out Aleister and Ricochet, making them land outside on the floor. I look over and check on them both. Adam tries to ump off the top rope but Velveteen kicks him. Until Ricochet is tagged in and he takes out Gargano, Tommaso and Adam. Ricochet goes for a pin but Tommaso kicks out.

Ricochet tags Aleister in and Aleister starts going after Gargano. Aleister springs off the rope when Tommaso comes in and takes them both out, Aleister tries to pin Gargano but he kicks out. Aleister races towards the corner and I quickly push Tommaso into Aleister's moonsault off the corner.

He takes them out until Adam tries to spring through the middle rope. Velveteen then launches himself onto them as Aleister clears himself out the way. He heads into the ring and tries to go after Gargano, he goes for the pin with his german suplex bridge but doesn't get the win.

"Come on, babe." I say as Aleister stands up on his feet, Velveteen in the corner. Aleister and Ricochet are both taken out again. Velveteen tries to pin Gargano but he kicks out again. Gargano tags Adam in after he hit Ricochet that he flipped him inside out.

Ricochet kicks out after Adam kicks him. I watch as Aleister, Tommaso, Ricochet, Gargano, Velveteen and Adam start fighting each other in the ring.

As they're fighting each other, Aleister, Velveteen, Gargano and Tommaso are all out on the outside. I check on Aleister and I see as Adam is on the top rope and Ricochet is below.

Adam springs off and tries to pin Ricochet but he kicks out again. The crowd goes insane. I see Tommaso slip inside the ring and Gargano, leaving Ricochet surrounded. Gargano, Adam and Tommaso all kick Ricochet and Adam goes for the pin until Aleister saves the match. Until Gargano tosses Aleister back out. I kneel down by my boyfriend's side.

Aleister gets up and goes back inside the ring after Velveteen takes Tommaso out with a Dream Driver and he takes Gargano out with a Black Mass, leaving Adam on his own. Adam goes to kick Aleister but he catches him.

Aleister hits him with a Black Mass, Velveteen uses Dream Driver and Ricochet springs off into his 450. Velveteen launches himself off and hits Adam with a Purple Rain Maker as Aleister is in the corner and pins him.

"Here are your winners- Aleister Black, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream!" I slip into the ring and I walk over to Velveteen, Ricochet and my boyfriend. I stand with Ricochet and Velveteen and raise their hands up and Aleister raises mine. I smile and wrap my arms around him.

"Good job, boys," I say as I watch them celebrate their victory. But that victory was short lived for me.

When we get backstage, I get a text message from my mom. I check my phone and what I see shocks me.

_Lyra. You need to come home. ASAP. Lydia's in the hospital. She's overdosed and is in critical condition. _

I nearly drop my phone and I bury my face in my hands, sobbing. Aleister immediately kneels down in front of me.

"Lyra? Liefde, what is it?" Aleister says, his hands cupping my face. "What's going on?"

"I-I have to go home," I sniff. "It's Lydia. My mom says she's overdosed and is in the hospital."

Aleister's eyes widen and he pulls me close- holding me in his arms and I could see that Ricochet and Velveteen overheard me and their faces are grim.

"Sh, Little Crow. Calm down," Aleister murmurs, resting his forehead on mine. "Just tell your mom we'll be there as soon as we can."

I nod and he kisses my forehead, rubbing my back in comfort with his hand. I take my phone out and respond to her message.

"I can't afford to lose her, Shadow," I sob and Aleister's eyes become sad. "Not like this."

"Sh. I know, baby. I know." Aleister kisses me softly and his arms tighten around me.

Please let her live. Don't take her away from me. I thought as I hold onto my boyfriend for another second then we get ready to leave the performance center and get on a flight to Blackpool. 


	5. Chapter 5: Poltergeist

(Song: "Poltergeist" by New Year's Day- which will be the third single from Lyra's record, Unbreakable. TW: if you don't like severed animal heads and or get creeped out by them, don't read this chapter but if you have a strong stomach made of pure steel, go ahead)

_Blackpool Victoria Hospital- February 22nd, 2019. _

I stand outside of Lydia's hospital room, I see her laid out on the bed, her body taking on a bluish hue from the overdose. Her breathing is slow and her eyes are closed.

She's hooked up to machines and my mom, Samantha, is by her side, crying.

A tear of my own slips down my cheek and I feel Aleister's hand squeeze mine softly. I look up at him and his eyes are full of sorrow. I wrap my arms around his neck and I hug him- tears falling onto his jacket.

Aleister kisses my forehead, his arm wrapping around my waist- his hand resting on the small of my back. I close my eyes, letting him be the source of comfort.

"She'll be okay, Little Crow," Aleister whispers. "If she's as resilient and strong as you are, she'll recover from this."

I nod and he kisses my hair as I rest my head on his shoulder before turning to face my mom.

"How did this happen, Mom?" I ask, Aleister's arm wrapped around my shoulder.

"Lydia started smoking cigarettes after school," Mom says. "She didn't think I'd see her do it but I did. But, apparently nicotine wasn't enough. She started sneaking out late at night, coming home really late high and I started finding needles for heroin in her bedroom."

Aleister grits his teeth as he glared daggers at my mother. "If you knew that Lydia was doing heroin, why didn't you do something about it?"

I glare at him and try not to grit my own teeth. "Aleister.."

"No. He's right. I should have stopped it before she took it all too far. He was right to call me out on it. I'm such a horrible mother." Mom starts crying again. Aleister's expression changes and he sighs, realizing his mistake.

"I shouldn't have said that," Aleister says. "I'm sorry. Things like this always get under my skin."

"Don't be sorry. You were right, Aleister. But I still feel like I failed you and your sister both, Lyra," Mom sobs.

"You didn't fail us, Mom. You did everything you could for us," I say. "This isn't your fault."

Aleister's thumb traces the back of my shoulder softly and he kisses my temple.

"Here's what I'm going to do," Aleister responds. "When Lydia's awake and is recovering from this, I want to offer her a job for my clothing brand, Black Mass. Because I assume what turned her to drugs is how she's being treated at school."

"Babe, you don't have to do that," I say before Aleister silences me with a kiss.

"I want to, Little Crow. It's the least I can do. And I want to get to know your sister a little bit more." Aleister murmurs against my lips.

"You're the best, Shadow." I wrap my arms around Aleister's neck.

"Only for you, Little Crow. Because I love you." Aleister whispers, his hand tracing my jaw.

"I love you too," I peck his lips with my own until I hear a noise that breaks us apart- I look over and I see that Lydia's awake and she made a gagging sound.

I roll my eyes- seeing that not even a drug overdose can change my sister's antics. Aleister chuckles and he kisses my hair.

"Did you hear that?" I ask Lydia and she looks at me. I sigh. "Aleister's going to help you out. He's offering you a job at Black Mass, his clothing brand."

"Are you serious?" Lydia's eyes widen in shock. Aleister nods. Lydia grins brightly. "Thank you, Aleister! I needed something like this."

"As long as you stay away from drugs, you and I will get along smoothly." Aleister says and then he offers his hand for her to shake. "Welcome to Black Mass, Lydia."

"Thank you again, Aleister. I promise I'll do my best." Lydia shakes Aleister's hand.

"But what are we going to do with the medical bills?" My mom says.

"I'll handle it," Aleister says. "I'll get her counseling and rehab as well. So, don't worry about the bills."

My mom looks at Aleister and she looks almost touched, I wrap my arms around my boyfriend and I kiss him on the cheek. He smiles and squeezes my hand.

"Thank you, Aleister," Mom says. "I really do appreciate you helping out."

Aleister nods and he holds me close to him.

Aleister and I stayed in Blackpool for a few more days so that I could look after Lydia while she recovered. We curled up on the couch and apparently Aleister's presence was enough to coax my gray Persian, Storm, to come out of hiding. Storm meowed at Aleister and he grins, the nerdier side of him starting to show it's colors and I laugh because it's adorable.

"I didn't know your mom had a cat," Aleister says as he offers his hand to Storm for her to sniff. She does and nuzzles his hand, Aleister starts petting her and she purrs.

"She does. Storm doesn't like visitors so she usually hides in my mom's room," I explain. "This is a rare moment when she actually likes a visitor. And of course it's you, babe."

My voice comes out in an amused tone and Aleister pulls me close, making me giggle as he kisses my temple and holds me.

While I was in Aleister's arms, I started getting the inspiration for a new song called Poltergeist that I wanted to write that was about Lydia's problem with heroin. And I had the honor of writing this song with Chris Motionless of Motionless In White, which I couldn't even believe happened.

We left Blackpool and headed back home- and as Aleister and I are walking in the door, I notice that something felt off. We're greeted by Luna, Totty and Tubby. Luna walks over to the sliding glass door and paws at it, thinking she wants out and I raise a brow. I walk over and I open the door. What I see in front of me causes me to go completely pale- like I've seen a ghost.

It's a severed crow's head and next to it is a note- I pick up the note and I open it up.

_Heads up, Little Crow. -D._

_No. Not this. It can't be. Devon's in jail. How could he be doing this_? I thought. I start to feel faint but Aleister catches me in his arms.

"Whoa. Lyra? Hey. What's going on?" Aleister says, a look of worry on his face. I can't even speak but my PTSD starts kicking in, I pull away and I wrap my arms around my knees and I start rocking myself back and forth as tears fall down my face.

"Liefde, you're scaring me," Aleister's voice is a plea as he reaches for my hands. "Talk to me, baby. Please."

"Back porch, Shadow." I mutter and Aleister stands up and walks out to the porch- I listen to his steps until he sees the crow head and I hear him curse in Dutch.

I know that it struck a chord in him because he loves animals.

"Apparently that sick bastard hasn't learned his lesson yet," Aleister snarls.

I sniffle and Aleister's anger vanishes for the moment. He walks back over to me and he kneels down in front of me.

"Sh." Aleister's voice is soft, warm and comforting as he cautiously takes my hand in his own. "Lyra. Breathe, baby. Listen to my voice."

My eyes are closed for a majority of the moment and when I hear Aleister's calming tone of voice, I open my eyes.

I feel his fingers in my own, his hand squeezes mine gently when he sees me staring at him. I move towards him, and he takes me into his arms.

I rest my head on his chest and I take comfort in him, his scent, his presence, everything.

"Why now?" I say, my voice small. Aleister looks at me and his hand rubs my back. "I thought this was all over. Why is he continuing this?"

Aleister's hand brushes my hair aside. "Because he's a sick and twisted bastard who wants control." He murmurs, his hand tracing up and down the small of my back. "The one thing that he'll never understand is this- he will never be able to take you away from me. He's never going to be able to pry you out of my arms which is the one thing he refuses to accept. But remember, Lyra, you and I both saw it. His own insanity is his weakness."

I feel his lips on my forehead- they linger there for a while, and he rests his chin on my head. He's right. Devon isn't going to get the job done because I have Aleister in my life and the last time that Devon tried to harm me, Aleister put an end to it and quickly.

"As long as I'm here and as long as I love you- which I do and I always will," Aleister whispers as his hand cups my cheek, making me meet his eyes. "He's not going to stand a chance, Little Crow."

"I love you too, Shadow." I say and I wrap my arm around his neck as we kissed.

As wonderful as my boyfriend is, to help me recover from my PTSD episode, he and I leave the house and we go down to the beach. I wear my Killstar "Banished Cosmic" one piece, my "Sun Spells" sarong around my waist and my "Banshee" flats.

I put my hair in a messy braid. I also bring my guitar and my notebook so I could catch up on songwriting. For February, it's actually kind of warm and there isn't that many people out. We find a spot and I set down my Killstar towels on the sand.

The wind blows through my crimson hair and I take a breath- feeling at peace and at ease without my demons bothering me now. I start writing lyrics and playing my guitar. Aleister took pictures of me working on my music. I didn't notice until I looked up and I saw his phone pointed at me.

"Why are you taking pictures of me?" I ask.

"Because you look beautiful and adorable when you're so focused on your music." Aleister says. "It really shows how passionate you are about songwriting, liefje."

I smile and I kiss Aleister on the cheek before leaning over to look at the pictures, he scrolls through them and the ones I loved were of me with my guitar, he took pictures of me playing chords and the way he captured my fingers as they moved across the fretboard and he even got little sparkle of my promise ring.

"Wow. These are really good, babe," I tell him. "You should be a professional photographer."

"No, it's more of something I love to do on the sidelines," Aleister says. "But when I have a subject that's so absurdly good looking, I can't help it."

I grin and I kiss him softly. "Aw. That's so sweet, Shadow." I murmur.

Aleister sends me the pictures he took and I post them onto my Instagram.

_athena_steele: A day of songwriting at the beach with my Shadow. _

I tag Aleister's Instagram in the pictures and lock my phone, we spend the day together and then we head home to our kitties. I never knew how much I needed a day of just relaxing with Aleister and I felt so much better. He also surprised me by making me dinner and I was so impressed.

Even if Devon is back and no matter what he can throw at me, he's not going to phase or break the love that I have for my Shadow.

(Aw. Aleister is such a good boyfriend to Lyra. It warms me to my very core. But anyways, I hope to catch you in the next one and it seems Devon's back. Uh-oh, will the boy ever learn that Aleister isn't gonna let Lyra go? Swear, boy. Get your shit together! Anyways, see ya! xx -TM) 


	6. Chapter 6: Found Missing

(Song: "Found Missing" by Juliet Simms. I am going to put a trigger warning because there is going to be a sequence where an animal gets killed, there's some self-harm and talks of suicide. But I wanted to have some Lyrister feels before I move on to the next piece, which is the Dusty Classic, WrestleMania and the release of Unbreakable! ... Stay tuned. Btw, I do recommend listening to this song while reading this bit. It really goes well with it. Enjoy! -TM)

****The shrill cries, the sounds of feathers being rustled as I see a cage of crows, they're stuffed inside this one cage- so many of them are piled together that there's no room left. **** ****I see a table next to the cage, where a figure with a black hood kicks it and causes the animals to scream and cry. He then opens the door, grabs one by the neck and drags it over to the table. **** ****He takes off his hood and I see that it's Devon. ****

****"Heads up, Little Crow," Devon says. He starts laughing evilly and with a knife, he slices the poor bird's head clean off it's shoulders- it shrieks in absolute agony, the body dropping to the ground and blood seeping in a crimson puddle.****

I wake up and I look around to see that I'm in bed, Aleister's asleep next to me. Totty, Tubby and Luna are laying on the edge of the bed. I glance at the clock- 3:30 in the morning. This has been the fifth time that I've had this dream, since we found the crow head outside of our house. I quietly get out of bed so I don't wake them up and I walk into the bathroom. I close the door and I sink down against the wall, crying softly. I'm worthless and helpless. I still don't understand why Aleister deserves someone like me. I sniff and I reach under the sink where I have a razorblade hidden. I tug it out of it's hiding place and I roll up my leggings and I start slicing gashes into my right leg, the blood dripping onto the floor.

"Lyra?" I hear Aleister's voice. _Shit_. I panic, trying my best to hide my wounded leg and the razor. I hear him knock at the door. I take a breath to try and calm myself enough so that he doesn't notice that something is wrong before I open the door. Aleister comes in and he sees me on the floor with my knees to my chest. And as I do this, blood drips all the way down my leg and to the floor next to him. He narrows his eyes until he realizes that I harmed myself because of Devon getting to me and the crow's head. He stands up and starts cursing in Dutch, the only thing I hear is Devon's name.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

Aleister stops pacing back and forth and he kneels down in front of me. "Liefje. This isn't your fault," Aleister murmurs. "You shouldn't have to harm yourself because of him. He's not worth the pain or the energy."

"But why does he still have his claws in me? You tried to keep him away and you protected and saved me when he tried to kill me back in Blackpool but he keeps digging deeper," I whimper. "I don't know what to do anymore!"

Aleister's rage simmers down quickly and his eyes soften- his hands cup my face and I stare at him.

"Liefde, you know why he's doing this," Aleister tells me. "He's a manipulative bastard who wants to see you suffer. He wants you to bleed, to harm yourself because it makes you look weak to him or that I'm not doing enough to keep you safe."

"That's not what I meant," I say.

"I know it's not," Aleister says. "But I know he does when you decide to take a razor to your skin."

I'm silent for a moment and I blink back more tears that threaten to fall. Aleister sighs and lifts my chin up with his hand. "No matter what I do he's still there, haunting me." I mutter.

"No matter where I've been, I can't help but see his face watching me."

"You keep feeding yourself to him, Lyra," He whispers. "I don't want you to hurt yourself and I don't want you to think about him. Replace your thoughts of Devon with me instead. Think about how much I love you, how after all these years that we'd been apart and never knowing if we'd see each other again, we're together. It might not be the greatest of circumstances but that doesn't mean I will never not care about you."

I sniff. "I love you too," I tell him.

He moves to place his lips on my forehead. His hand moves toward my wounded leg and I tense up- afraid of what he might see underneath. He looks at me with a soft but also kind of sad look. I move and I let him pull up my legging- next to my right knee are five deep cuts. I start to say something but he cuts me off by kissing me softly.

When we break away, he stands up again and starts to clean up my wounds, cleaning away the dried blood on my skin. After my wounds are cleaned and he took care of them, he picks me up and carries me back to our room. I could see sunlight starting to come in. We both settle back in our bed, I move to snuggle into him.

"Lyra," Aleister says after a few minutes of him holding me- I look up at him. "You'll never lie to me, right?"

"I never will," I say. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I want you to be completely honest with me when I ask you this," Aleister takes my hands in his own and he kisses them before he bites down on his lip ring. I'm afraid of what he's going to say. My breath slows. "Have you ever tried to kill yourself?"

I'm unsure of what to say next because I didn't think he'd ask me this. I ponder my words for a minute as he brushes my hair behind me before I get my courage.

"Whenever Devon would slice those words into my flesh," I confess. "Every time I'd do it after Devon would have his violent episodes toward me, I'd prayed that I'd make a mistake and leave this place. One night, I had felt so miserable and worthless- I decided to take a knife to my throat. I told myself that I had nothing else to live for. But I will always remember that night because I got a text message from Marty and he told me that he ran.. Into you."

Aleister's eyes widen and he brings me closer, I watch as he becomes emotional.

"Marty said you asked about me." I continue. "The one thing that stopped me from ending it all is you, Aleister." Aleister starts getting choked up because of the letters that he wrote to me. His eyes are glistening with tears.

"It's true. You really have saved me more than once," I whisper as my voice breaks. "If Marty hadn't told me that he'd seen you, I know I would have done it that night. Even though it's brief, it means so much that you thought about and reached out to me, that you cared and you still do care."

"Lyra," I hear him whimper almost. His arms hold me tightly to his chest. I let myself go and we both cry for a moment. "I'm glad you're still here. Because we wouldn't be together if you weren't." I nod and he moves to meet my lips. My arms wrap around him and his hands hold me. "I will never regret talking to Marty about you," Aleister whispers. "Never. I love you so much." I smile and I kiss him on the cheek.

"I love you too," I murmur. "After reading what Marty told me, I dropped the knife and I cried. Because that was the first real time that I'd heard from you. I dragged myself back into the room that I was in and I turned to music. I wrote every suicidal thought that I had in my mind into a song, and that became what I called '_Found Missing_'."

I reach into the pocket of my leggings and I hand him the paper from my notebook that I wrote the song on. He sat up and unfolded it, and I watched as he read the lyrics.

_I swear I don't belong here  
But I believe  
Don't tell me this all comes from fear  
I promise I'll be different  
There's nothing left  
I'm on my knees surrendering  
This can't be_

_I didn't know I lost it all  
Didn't know I'd break and fall  
This isn't who I'm meant to be  
There's so much here that I found missing_ _Lost it all  
You can hear the angels call  
This isn't who you're meant to be  
I lost it all now I'm found missing  
_  
_I look in my reflection  
A stranger now  
A bully bows in redemption  
And if you can see the pain in  
My father's eyes as he told me goodbye  
Honey don't be afraid  
I'll be here waiting at the end of your time  
I will learn to walk again, again_

_I didn't know I lost it all  
Didn't know I'd break and fall  
This isn't who I'm meant to be  
I lost it all now I'm found missing  
_  
_Lost it all  
You can hear the angels call  
This isn't who you're meant to be  
I lost it all now I'm found missing_

_Like a bomb in the night  
I will go to a different light  
I'm at war with my head, open my eyes  
Let the dust settle in_

_I was just too afraid  
Doing my best was never enough to really win  
I was told that this curse only gets worse  
If you never hurt or ask God for forgiveness  
For forgiveness_

_Yeah, yeah_

_I didn't know I lost it all  
Didn't know I'd break and fall  
This isn't who I'm meant to be  
There's so much here that I found missing_

_Lost it all  
You can hear the angels call  
This isn't who you're meant to be  
I lost it all now I'm found missing_

"I'm going to keep this and frame it," Aleister says as I look up at him.

"Why?" I ask. "It's only a recollection of my suicidal thoughts."

"Because I'm proud of you for not taking your life that night," Aleister murmurs. "You took what you believed to be suffering through at that time and made something powerful with it and if you had made that decision, I wouldn't be holding you in my arms right now. I'm also proud of you for seeing that the world needs you here. That I need you here and you were never alone to begin with." I smile and I hug him, his arms wrap around me and I feel his hand on my back.

"Thank you for always believing in me, Shadow," I pull back and I wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm still alive because of you."

"As long as I love you, that's never going to change," Aleister kisses my temple. "I never want it to," I say as I start to close my eyes against him and finally we're able to sleep peacefully through the early morning, more me than him because I can feel the nightmare that had it's claws in me- it's losing it's grip.


	7. Chapter 7: Unbreakable

(Song: "Unbreakable" by New Years Day. Thanks for sticking around, guys and welcome back. Sorry it's been a major hot minute since I updated Edge of The Damage And for that I apologize but I promise I'm back with new updates. So, this piece is going to be a two part chapter! This is part one, part two will be coming soon! I hope you have a killer start to your spooky season! -xo TM )

_Orlando State Prison- March 29th, 2019_.

Devon Crane paced back and forth in his cell- the anger running through his body. He was furious that he was in this cell and he was angry because he had plans back in Blackpool, he wanted to shoot and kill Lyra Crowe because she had left him but her precious "boyfriend" got in the way.

Devon sneered as he thought of the 'boyfriend'- Aleister Black. He absolutely felt sick to his stomach thinking about them. He clutched his fists so tightly that they almost turned white.

He knows he would have gotten away with Lyra's murder if Aleister wasn't there, if he hadn't stopped him- he felt humiliated knowing that he had also gotten his ass kicked by Aleister. Devon felt his rage towards Aleister heighten. He started punching the wall until his knuckles bled.

"I'll kill you, Black," He snarls under his breath. "I'll kill you and Lyra both."

"I can help out with that," Devon hears a voice and he sees his bunkmate- a shorter looking guy with tattoos and dirty blonde hair with a scar across his right eye, standing across with his arms crossed- he extends a hand to shake. "Nikolai Faust, but you can call me Scar. Everybody else does."

"Devon Crane," Devon responds, shaking his hand.

"So, tell me, Crane," Nikolai says. "Who're we targeting?"

Devon reaches into his bunk and pulls out a notebook and hands it to him. "Lyra Crowe, my ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend, Aleister Black."

"Wait, Aleister Black, the wrestler?" Nikolai says. Even mentioning the name causes anger to flood through Devon.

"Don't tell me you like him," Devon says.

"As a performer, yes." Nikolai responds. "Everything else? Not so much."

Devon reached into his bunk and pulled out the notebook- inside is full of ways that he plans to torture Aleister and Lyra, he hands it to Nikolai.

"This isn't my area of expertise," Nikolai flips through the pages. "But I know some people on the outside that can handle this. Consider it done."

Devon grins, the grin is almost bloodcurdling and they shake hands, sealing their partnership.

_Scott Steven's Studio- March 30th, 2019. _

"_I am stronger than you know_

_Cause unbreakable pieces don't shatter_

_I won't shatter  
You can't shatter me now  
I am taking back my life  
And putting myself back together  
I won't shatter  
You can't shatter me now  
I'm unbreakable_

_I stepped on broken glass  
Walking through the past  
Feeling every cut that crippled me  
Been through it all before  
Won't go back anymore  
I've gone too far_

_And I've been waiting here for way too long  
Feeling tears that just won't dry  
I opened up my eyes once when I was blind  
Now I'm holding onto night  
(Holding onto night)_

_I am stronger than you know  
Cause unbreakable pieces don't shatter  
I won't shatter  
You can't shatter me now..."_

I finish the last song off my album, which is the title track for the album- "Unbreakable" and I've been working with producer Scott Stevens, who has helped produce Halestorm's "Into The Wild Life" record back in 2014.

Unbreakable is the record that I'm most happy with because it really represents me as an artist and what my sound is. As I've said in multiple interviews about this record- it's the "poppiest metal record".

It's heavy but it also carries elements of other genres- and the songs are coming from my experiences and emotions- pain, survival, love and strength to name a couple.

And I've had special guest writers for this record, Chris Motionless and Lzzy Hale- they co-wrote "Poltergeist" and "Break My Body" with me.

"That's a wrap on Unbreakable. Well done, Lyra," Scott says as I step out of the studio after recording the final track. "I'll let you know when we can start talking about the release date for this thing."

"Thank you, Scott for working with me on this record," I respond. "I couldn't have chosen a better producer."

"I'm proud of you, liefje," Aleister says as I turn to him. I smile softly- grateful for having him be my number one supporter. I kiss him on the cheek in thanks. "Now that the record's done, maybe we can take a vacation."

I giggle. "That would be great and all," I say. "But maybe after WrestleMania."

Aleister chuckles and brings me close to him. Even though I said it in a joking manner, I wasn't kidding.

I've been managing Aleister and Ricochet since they've been doing the Dusty Classic and they won and are facing War Raiders at NXT TakeOver: New York, Aleister and Ricochet and I all have our WrestleMania debuts as well. And I promised to release one more single before the album comes out, and I'm not sure which single it'll be. It's going to be a long but exciting weekend.

_NXT TakeOver: New York- April 5, 2019. _

I'm in a rush as I quickly change for tonight's TakeOver, the opening of the show will be Aleister and Ricochet and War Raiders for the NXT Tag Team Titles. I change into one of Jeffree's "Can't Relate" tees that he gave me, which I cut up- a pair of Current Mood "Game Over" leggings, a silver pentagram belt from Killstar as well as the "Salem City" boots to complete my outfit.

I wear makeup from Jeffree's "Blue Blood" eyeshadow palette, his "Northern Lights" highlight palette and the shade "Designer Blood" on my lips. I straighten my hair and pull it into a ponytail.

As I use my setting spray and fan my face, I get a text from Scott Stevens.

_We have a release date for Unbreakable! April 24th!_

I grin happily as I lock my phone and quickly leave to find Aleister and Ricochet- who's with his girlfriend, Kacy.

"Scott just texted me," I say, getting Aleister and Ricochet's attention. "Unbreakable will be coming out on April 24th."

Aleister smiles and pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly as Ricochet pats my shoulder in congrats.

"That's great news, liefde," Aleister murmurs as he kisses my forehead. I nod as I let go of him and we get ready to head out to the ring. When War Raiders are out there, Ricochet goes out first and then we follow.

The match was exciting and intense- as well as emotional because it's also Aleister and Ricochet's final match in NXT. War Raiders retained their titles and they lost but as I watched while standing in the corner, Ricochet starts becoming emotional and Aleister hugs him, as I get a tear in my eye.

I hear "You Deserve It" chants from the audience- and that causes me to start crying. So I join them in the ring and raise their hands up in the air. When we walk backstage, I share a hug with both Aleister and Ricochet.

"Much respect, Pale Daughter," I turn and I see Hanson and Rowe as they walk past us. I nod back.

_WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony: East Rutherford, New Jersey- April 6th, 2019._

I put on my "Unholy Oath" shrug from Widow over my "Beyond Dawn" dress from Killstar- tonight is the Hall Of Fame, which always happens before the night of WrestleMania. I finish my makeup off and focus on putting my hair into a side braid before completing the outfit with some fishnet tights and my "Evelyn" heels from Killstar too.

After my makeup is set, I check my phone which has been going off since I released the final song off of Unbreakable and the one song that Aleister told me is his favorite that I've written- "_Come For Me_". Which is a fight song.

I scroll through Twitter and I retweet an article from Alternative Press, as well as Kerrang Magazine and Rock Sound about my song.

"_Lyra Crowe releases new single off debut album, calls it a fight song_"

"_Lyra Crowe has a new song- and tells the world 'If they have something to say about her, her professional or love life, to say it to her face. The invitation is open_'.

I then turn my attention from my phone to see Aleister- who's actually dressed in color this time and not in his black suits that he always wears. I'm almost taken back by it.

"What?" He says as he notices the shock on my features.

"I'm not used to you wearing color sometimes," I say with a shrug. "That's all."

"Maybe I should start wearing it more often then," Aleister tells me and I chuckle- he places a kiss onto the top of my head. "Ready?"

I nod after checking the time on my phone- we had to be there for the red carpet before the ceremony starts. I intertwine my arm in his and he wraps his hand in mine as we take off.

We hit the red carpet and pose for pictures and talk to the media before heading inside to the arena.

"We're here with Aleister Black and the lovely Athena Steele," I wave to the camera as I turn to Maria Menounos, Renee Young and Byron Saxon.

"Hi, guys. How are you?" I reply as Aleister wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"I wanted to say, I love that you both look like Gomez and Morticia," Renee says. "Where did you get your outfit at?"

"The dress is from Killstar and the faux leather shrug is from a smaller brand called Widow," I say. "You can find them on Dollskill, they have a whole range of alternative based clothing."

"I hear you're releasing your debut album later this month," Maria says and I nod. "Can you talk to us about it?"

"Of course. It's called _Unbreakable,_" I explain. "It's produced by Scott Stevens, who made Halestorm's '_Into The Wild Life_' record- I got the recommendation to work with him from Lzzy Hale herself. The album covers a lot of personal chapters in my life as well as one of Aleister's and I consider it the most pop-metal record I have ever written. Think artists like Kehlani meeting bands like Pantera."

"This record has really shown how emotionally driven she is," Aleister says. "Not only is she passionate about being here but her heart really shows in the music that she's created too and I love being her biggest supporter and fan."

"Aw. Thanks, babe," I say with a smile. "I released a new single yesterday called '_Come For Me_' which is his favorite song on the record, it's a fight song for the most part. And I feel the world needs more fight music out there."

"Here's something I wanted to pick your brain about, Athena," Renee asks. "Since he's so supportive of both your wrestling and music career- will we ever see a collaboration between the both of you?"

Aleister starts to laugh next to me and I ponder my response before answering. "Actually, there is a song on the record I wrote- I won't say which one since the album isn't out yet, if you listen and pay close attention to the lyrics- it's just lines that me and him just bounced off of each other one night."

After our interview on the pre-show, we head to find our seats before the ceremony starts.

_WrestleMania 35: East Rutherford, New Jersey- April 7th, 2019. _

Aleister and I were the first of the few to arrive to the MetLife Stadium for WrestleMania. I'm going to be a part of the big Women's Battle Royal before the actual event starts and then Aleister is going to be in a fatal four way for the SmackDown tag titles against The Usos, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro and Sheamus.

I have special gear made for WrestleMania thanks to my friends at Widow & Dollskill.

Widow made me a custom faux leather trench coat with spikes and chains and studs- and on the back is my nickname, "Pale Daughter".

I have a vinyl corset top and matching leggings- and my boots have my character's initials, "AS" and they have Scythes on the sides.

I put my hair up into a ponytail and I wear my makeup using Jeffree's makeup line- Blood Sugar on the eyes, "Wet Dream- Supreme Frost" on the cheeks and "Calabasas" on the lips.

When we all file out for the women's battle royal and the match begins- I find myself working with Zelina for a majority of the match, we met in the middle and decided to be allies.

Until Carmella eliminates me. I shrug it off and head backstage, where I'm greeted by Aleister, who'd been watching the match the entire time backstage. He wraps his arm around my waist and brings me to his side, kissing the top of my head.

"You did really good out there," He murmurs.

I smile and I turn- wrapping my arm around his neck and I kissed him on the cheek.

"And I know you will too," I whisper. I hear him chuckle and he presses a kiss to my lips. I stayed backstage and I watched on the monitors as Aleister and Ricochet were in the match. They didn't win the tag titles but they put on a hell of a match for their WrestleMania debut.

_Making of the "Shut Up" Music Video and "Unbreakable" cover shoot: Star Studios, Los Angeles, CA- April 18th, 2019_.

"And... Cut!" I take a breath after the cameras backed away from me. Today I'm filming the music video for "Shut Up" at Star Studios, Jeffree's studio for his makeup campaigns.

This music video is going to be inspired by one of my favorite movies, "American Psycho". I take a breath and blow my hair away from my face.

But there's also a message in the video with the song- which is me defending my relationship with Aleister from the haters and the fans who aren't so admiring towards us.

I invited Adam Cole to play the "dirt sheet rep" that I invite into the apartment that I later kill with using an ax while dancing along to my own music.

And Adam was such a good sport about it and actually helped out with how it should be believable as well as real when I kill him with the ax.

I only had one more scene to film which is me doing the song- whilst covered in blood and under red lighting.

The music video is going to be release at the end of this month after Unbreakable is out- as a surprise to the fans.

The last thing I needed to do is the photo shoot for the cover that's going on the album, and Aleister helps with the photo shoot. He's actually really good at photography- so that's why I trust him with the album cover.

The photo that I chose is the one of me, I'm completely shirtless and my tattoos are exposed, I wear one silver contact in my eye and I have a black background around me, my hair covering my chest and my hands are near my face- my pointer fingers barely grazing my cheeks and my promise ring sparkling in full display.

I'm very happy with the cover photo and I couldn't wait to see the shot on the physical CD when it comes out.

A few days later, when Aleister and I are actually home from the road, I receive a package in the mail from Scott, my producer and when I open it- is the actual CD for Unbreakable. My hands are shaking as I pick up the album.

I turn it over and I see the track listing on the back of it:

1\. _Come For Me_

2 _MissUnderstood_

3\. _Skeletons_

4\. _Unbreakable_

5._ Shut Up_

6._ Done With You_

7\. _Poltergeist_

8\. _Break My Body_

9\. _Sorry Not Sorry_

10\. _My Monsters_

11\. _Nocturnal_

12\. _I Survived. _

"Shadow!" I yell for Aleister. I hear him yell back to me and I tell him to come here. I then hear him come into the entryway by our front door.

"What is it, liefje?" Aleister says and I quickly hide my album behind my back but I keep a huge grin on my face.

"Guess what I just got?" I ask. Aleister looks at me in confusion and I roll my eyes before showing him the physical copy of my first album. Aleister's eyes widen and I nod, smiling again.

Aleister gestures for the album and I hand it to him, he sees the photo that he took as the cover and he smiles- he also reads the track names one by one.

"I'm so proud of you, Lyra," Aleister murmurs as he brings me close and kisses me softly.

"Thank you for always being my number one fan and supporter," I say as I look up at him. "This album wouldn't even be real without you, which is why I want you to have it first."

"Nothing means more to me than watching you succeed," He whispers. "I love you so much, Little Crow and I will always cherish this."

"I love you too," I wrap my arms around him and he holds me.


	8. Chapter 8: Take Me

(Song: "Take Me" by Juliet Simms. Welcome to Part 2 of this chapter! How did you like meeting Devon's new ally, Nikolai? The inspiration for Nikolai came from the character in Leigh Bardugo's "Grisha" Trilogy and the King of Scars duology that she has out. To get a better feel of who he looks like- think Alexander Ludwig, who plays Bjorn Ironside in Vikings, covered in tattoos- including a set of skull tattoos on the left side of his body, which is my tribute to Happy Lowman from Sons of Anarchy/Mayans MC and the scar on his right eye.

This chapter features celebrating the release of Unbreakable, Lyra's record- The Shield's Final Chapter and of course, AB's birthday which Lyra has a special gift that she has planned for him- which is this song that I mentioned above and the music video. Which means... It's gonna be rather steamy so you've been warned.

As a bonus: There's going to be a smidge of an interview that Lyra has with Alternative Press at the end of this chapter, regarding Take Me! See you soon. xx -TM)

_Unbreakable Pre-Release Dinner & The Shield's Final Chapter: April 20th and 21st, 2019- Moline, Illinois_.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask as Aleister pushes me forward, his hand resting over my eyes. Aleister told me that he wanted me to be dressed and ready because he has a surprise for me.

He didn't tell me anything else. So I slipped on a velvet dress from Killstar, fishnets and a pair of Demonia boots and put my hair up in a bun.

We were in Illinois for The Shield's Final Chapter- a special that was being streamed on the network tomorrow. I was told to come because they wanted me to manage Aleister and Ricochet for their match- and since it's still a house show, I agreed.

Eventually Aleister came to a stop and his hand moved away from my face but he told me to keep my eyes closed. I hear him move and stand in front of me.

"Open your eyes, Lyra," Aleister murmurs and I do- and I see that I'm in a fancy steakhouse and Aleister had invited Roman, Seth, Dean, Becky, Ricochet and Kacy, I even see Jeffree and Nate and Shane and Ryland as well as my mom and Lydia- who has been recovering from her heroin overdose quite well. What really blew me away was my album cover being on the wall and I heard it playing on the sound system.

"Babe, what is all of this?" I ask. Aleister chuckles and wraps his arm around my waist.

"This is the surprise I told you about, liefje," He says, his voice warm and loving. "This is your album release party. I planned all of this."

"No, you didn't. You're joking." I turn and I stare at him- I see that he's dressed up rather nicely in one of his black suits, Aleister smiles and he nods. I squeak and I hug him tightly. "Shadow! This is the sweetest thing you could have ever done for me."

"I told you I'm proud of you," Aleister whispers as I pull back to stare at him, his hand brushing my cheekbone.

A tear falls down my cheek. "You're too good for me, Aleister." I whisper. Aleister rests his forehead on mine and he wipes away my tear.

"Never, Little Crow," He kisses the bridge of my nose. I wrap my arm around his neck and give him an actual kiss. His hands hold my face as I kiss him.

"Alright, let's celebrate your album before you two start fucking each other's brains out," Jeffree says as he clears his throat, making us break away and laugh- I even heard some snickering from Shane too.

"I love you," I murmur as I kiss him again. "Thank you for doing all of this. Seriously. It means so much to me, Shadow."

"I love you too, liefde. I love you so much." He kisses the top of my head. "You know I'd do anything for you, Little Crow."

Aleister and I take our place at the head of the table next to Jeffree and Shane. I kept my hand in Aleister's the entire time as I talked to my friends and dinner was served. Eventually all of my friends quieted down so I could raise a glass in cheers.

"I wanna say thank you to everyone who came out to support my first album," I say. "I also wanted to say thank you to my absolutely wonderful and thoughtful boyfriend who has been kind enough to surprise me with this party for my album."

I raise my glass over to Seth, Dean and Roman. "Even though we're all celebrating the release of my record, I don't want it to put over the other reason why we're also here. Which is the end of The Shield. I wanted to say thank you to these three boys for paving the way like they have over the years. So, thank you. And cheers."

I clinked my glass with my friends and I smile as Aleister kisses my cheek and he wraps his arm around my shoulders- I lean my head on his shoulder.

The next day is The Shield's final chapter and Aleister and I train with Seth and Becky early in the morning before the event. And I play my album on in the background as we train too.

The night of the event- I wear one of Aleister's tees from his clothing line that I cut up, I wear faux leather jeans from Current Mood, and a pair of Killstar "Stargazer" boots. My hair lays plain on my shoulders and I wear Jeffree's and a new brand of makeup called Necromancy Cosmetica.

Tonight, Aleister and Ricochet are going against The Revival and Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder for the WWE Raw Tag Team Titles and they're starting the show off- so I have to quickly be ready to be out there.

Ricochet heads out first and Aleister and I follow- and I take my place in their corner during the match.

They didn't win but the match was fantastic. We head backstage and we stick around for the main event which is The Shield's last match against Baron Corbin, Drew Mcintyre and Bobby Lashley.

_Making of the "Take Me" Music Video- Shane Dawson's House: May 8th, 2019- Calabasas, CA. _

Today I'm at Shane's house and I am filming a new music video for a new song that I have planned for Aleister's birthday later this month. It's called "_Take Me"_. I wrote "Take Me" outside of what Unbreakable is and it's just about one thing, which is true love.

This is the first real project that I've had Shane help me with- ever since we met when helping Jeffree clean out his house and get rid of the excess makeup.

So the theme of this music video is inspired by our relationship- I have food and a projector that shows pictures of Aleister and I as well clips from movies and tv shows, like Gomez and Morticia from Addams Family, Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas- Buffy and Angel, Selene and Michael from Underworld.

For the first half of the video, I'm wearing a cut up "Devil's Blood" tee and a pair of distressed leggings from Widow and Killstar "Salem City" boots.

We film in Shane's living room for the first half- me eating food, playing my guitar and listening to music, the next half in the bedroom- where I lay on the bed with the other half messy, representing Aleister's side of the bed.

I also do a scene where I'm holding one of Aleister's shirts to my chest and I'm smelling his scent and for that scene, I'm just wearing a baggy black tee with a graphic that says- "No heaven. No hell. Just death" on it, a pair of Killstar panties and fishnet tights.

As well as another where I'm sitting at Shane and Ryland's dining room table, wearing a dress from Killstar- that's turned into a romantic dinner scene and I laugh and smile like Aleister's with me. And it changes to a rather sad scene, where I'm dressed in a white lace top from Widow and a black vinyl skirl from Current Mood and I break one of the vases on the ground.

The video ends with two plushies on the bed- a black cat and a crow.

_Aleister's 34th Birthday- May 19th, 2019._

Aleister and I have been staying at the Foxwoods Casino for the last few days for his birthday. And while we've been here- I've gotten the final edit for the 'Take Me" video from Andrew, Shane's cameraman.

A knock on our hotel room door gets my attention and I close my laptop after pausing the music video because I didn't want Aleister to see it and I go answer the door.

It's just room service and they brought Aleister a birthday cake- it's chocolate and has gold mirror glaze on it. There's a note next to it. I pick it up and read it and it's from Shane, Ryland, Jeffree and Nate.

"Babe," I say and Aleister comes out of the bathroom- dressed in one of his hoodies and a pair of flannels. "Shane, Ryland, Jeffree and Nate got you a birthday cake."

Aleister walks over and he sees the cake- I watch him grin like an absolute child. He kisses my cheek. "Tell them I said thank you, liefje," Aleister murmurs.

I nod and I get my phone out- taking a picture of the cake and sharing it on my IG story, tagging them in the post. After the cake's been cut- I decide that now is the time to give him my gift.

"So, for your birthday this year," I say as I move to straddle his hips and Aleister looks at me. "I wrote you a song. I filmed the music video at Shane's house with his help directing it."

I grab my laptop and I hook it up to project it to the TV. I open up the email from Andrew and I put the video up on full screen.

I let it play and it opens with me dressed in the Devil's Blood tee that I cut up and the Widow leggings. I move to sit beside Aleister on the couch and I take a breath- hoping that he likes his gift.

_Oh, my, my, my  
Please won't you take me?  
Showed up and shaked me  
Down to the bone  
Oh, my, my, my  
Ain't it a strange thing?_  
_You make me crazy  
Please take me home_

_Oh, my Lord, I'd die  
_  
_Why don't you take me?  
Why don't you take me?  
I didn't know there was trouble  
'Til you made a lover of me_  
_Why don't you take me?  
Why don't you take me?  
I didn't know there was trouble  
'Til you made a lover of me... _

The projector is playing and I'm sitting on the couch, pictures of Aleister and I are shown as well as the clips of Gomez and Morticia, Buffy and Angel, Sally and Jack Skellington.

The scene changes to where I'm laying on the bed next to the side that's empty- representing Aleister's side. I can see Aleister starting to become emotional when I'm seen holding his shirt to my chest.

_If you gave me one little kiss  
It would free me from aching  
Or keep me from breaking  
Spending one more night in your arms_

_When you touch me like you do  
God damn, who could blame me?  
Just get here baby_

_And take me 'cause I'm in the mood... _

I see a tear in Aleister's eye as he sees the scene where I'm alone sitting at the table and I toss the vase to the ground as well as when I get out of the bathtub and I draw that heart in the mirror and I wipe it away.

_Tell me you love me  
My world's upside down  
Tell me you want me  
Because I need you now  
Please show me any other way  
Please make a sound..._

_Take me  
Take me_  
_Take me_

_Why don't you take me?  
Why don't you take me?_  
_I didn't know there was trouble  
'Til you made a lover of me  
Why don't you take me?_  
_Why don't you take me?  
I didn't know there was trouble  
'Til you made a lover of me_  
_I didn't know there was trouble... _

The video ends with the two plushies of the crow and the black cat sitting on the bed. I paused it after the screen went to black and I stepped away as Aleister got himself together because I could see evident tears in his eyes.

I quickly go into the bathroom after I texted Jeffree about what I should do for Aleister's birthday night and he said to wear one of his vests- guaranteed it'd turn him on and drive him crazy.

So, that's what I did. I slip on his vest, and I change into a pair of Killstar "Obsidian Boudoir" panties. I spray on my favorite perfume on my skin, I tease up my hair and smoke the hell out my eyes with Jeffree's palettes.

I take a breath before I step out of the bathroom and I lean against the wall. Aleister's eyes move from the screen to me and I watch as he's in complete shock. I smile softly as I stand there.

"Lyra? ... What?" I smirk and walk slowly to him, I straddle him again and I put my finger to his lips.

"Shut up, Shadow," I murmur- my voice taking on a seductive tone. "And Happy Birthday."

I move my finger away and he leans into my lips- kissing me deeply, running his fingers across the skin on my back. He slowly takes off his vest and he sets it down next to the couch before picking me up and lays me on the bed- while his tongue slips into my mouth.

My hands move under his hoodie and my nails scratch his skin, making him groan into my lips. He breaks away from my lips and he pulls off his hoodie.

He continues his trail to my neck and he smells my perfume against my skin as he bites my earlobe.

"You smell so good, liefde," He whispers into my skin, making me smile before his kisses move to the center of my breasts- his lip ring making me shiver.

He pays attention to each of my breasts, making me curl my fingers into his hair as I whimper in pleasure. His lips move to my ribcage where he leaves a bite mark on my hip and to my scars, as well as my stomach before he takes off my panties with his teeth.

I then feel his lip ring on me and I bite my lip, trying not to cry out.

"Fuck," I whimper as he gets into it- biting, nipping and sucking. My hands resting in his hair.

He breaks away from his work and then he moves up to meet my lips again, he stands and I watch as he strips the last of his clothing in front of me, making me bite my lip again and my body starts to ache for him. Once he's removed the last of his clothing, he crawls back up to meet my lips and he kisses me passionately before pushing into me.

I break away and gasp, my nails digging into his shoulders and back as he starts to move. His pace starts slowly and then he quickens, making me bite my own arm so I don't scream out in pleasure because the walls of the hotel are thin. He kisses me- so that my cries can go somewhere.

I flip him onto his back after a while and I straddle his hips, taking control of him. I sink down onto him and I hear him growl softly as his hands reach for my hips.

One of my favorite things about being in the position with him is that I watch all of his little quirks- my favorite one is when I move myself completely down and his jaw twitches, as if he wants me to kiss him.

He has me on my back again and he continues where my hips start to tire- he keeps going for the both of us. All it takes is one thrust and my body shatters underneath him. I hear him growl in Dutch next to me.

I collapse against the pillows of the bed and he does as well- I take a breath and allow my heart to calm from it's race. I look over at him and he smiles, brushing my crimson hair with his fingers.

"Best birthday present ever," Aleister says and I start giggling because I can't help it and he starts to laugh at himself. He brings me into his arms and holds me. "Not just all of this but I loved your song, Lyra. Thank you."

"Of course, babe," I whisper as he kisses my hair. "Also, it was Jeffree's idea- he was the one who came up with the whole thing with your vest."

Aleister chuckles into my hair. "I want to say I'm surprised but I'm really not. Knowing Jeffree."

I giggle. "I wasn't either. But it worked," I say. "Did you have a good birthday, Shadow?"

He nods and he kisses me softly. "You were here," Aleister murmurs. "That's all I wanted this year. What you did for me tonight gave me a whole new reason to fall in love with you all over again."

My heart melts and I slip my arms around his neck and his hands rest on my back.

"I love you too," I whisper and he meets my lips again. As we settle in each other's arms, Aleister rests his chin on the top of my head as I rest my head on his chest. He runs his fingers through my hair.

"Sometimes I feel as if there may be something I might do that might drive you away." He breaks the silence between us and I move to look at him. "I'm afraid that there's a fragment of my existence that won't be good enough for you. That's why Zelina and I didn't work out before she hurt me."

I don't say anything because this is all new from him that I didn't read in his letters but I press my lips to his heart, telling him that I'm here. He sighs and holds me closer. "She left me so vulnerable. She somehow found a way to tear me apart by hurting me in the worst way possible. I tried putting all of the remains back together when you and I saw each other again when you'd signed with NXT. And when you saw that I didn't have them all- you gave me some of yours. You wrote that letter as if it was your own. You helped me forget all about her. You wanted to be the one to fix that wound and you did."

"I know, Shadow," I whisper. He kisses my head softly.

"I fear that there will be something that I say or do one day that will startle you, Little Crow," Aleister murmurs. "It'll evoke an emotion and ruin everything between myself and you."

I hold him closer. "Why would it?" I murmur. "You've already made me feel everything I've already felt and things I haven't felt before. You know there's no way you'd be able to drive me away, even if you tried- you wouldn't be able to. When you wrote all of those letters, I knew that I had found my other half. I'm scarred up. I'm sick. But you're the only person that can and have been able to make me feel better about myself."

Aleister's hands pull me closer by my waist and he kisses me tenderly. We break away and I cup his cheek in my hand.

"You're the only person in this world that has seen the scars that I received from Devon without flinching or turning the other cheek at me and embraced them as your own," I whisper. "And I will always be eternally grateful to you for that."

"No matter how you see yourself," Aleister's voice is loving and soft. "I will always love you just the way you are, Lyra."

I pull his lips to mine once more because only his words can make me feel the way that they do, his hands cup my face as we kiss.

"Lyra," Aleister whispers and I look up at him. "Tell me why you love me."

I grin and I shift so I'm eye to eye with him. "Thank you for allowing me to answer that," I say. "There's so many things that I love you for."

He rests his arm behind his head and he brushes a strand of my hair out of my face. "Then tell me all of them," He says. "Make me fall in love with you over and over again."

And so I do. I tell him everything that I love about him and I watch as his expression becomes more in love with me.

"My most favorite thing about you is that you love so deeply," I say as I let my hand rest back in his hair. "And it's my favorite thing about being in love with you. And the fact that you're my rock and I can always go to you about everything. And the fact that you're not afraid to have me tattooed on your skin."

Aleister smiles softly and he kisses the back of my hand before intertwining our fingers together.

"I let you go once. I'm not letting you go again now that you're back in my life," Aleister says and it makes me feel utterly breathless. "And especially after what's happened."

"That's the other thing that I love about you," I murmur. "I love the way you speak to me. How you know exactly what to say when you need to say it."

He kisses my temple softly. "It's also one of my favorite things about you too," He muses. "You're so special to me, Lyra."

I curl back into him and I listen to his heartbeat before my eyes close. He kisses my forehead tenderly and as he's on the edge of sleep- I take this time to announce the release of my new song, which is out on Spotify by now by tweeting out the music video.

AthenaSteeleWWE: "_I didn't know there was trouble 'til you made a lover of me.._" _#TakeMe_\- _Available now. Happy Birthday to my Shadow, WWEAleister. I love you. And thank you to shanedawson for allowing me to film this video at his house. _

_AthenaSteeleWWE: Take Me was written out of the spotlight that became Unbreakable. It's about one thing and one thing only- true love. The kind of earth-shattering love that you know deep within yourself that you feel for your other half. I hope you enjoy the single. _

I also go onto Instagram and I post some of my favorite pictures of Aleister and I for his birthday_. _

_athena_steele: Happy Birthday, my beloved Shadow. I love you with every fiber of my being and there are never enough words to tell you how much you mean to me. Thank you for always being my rock, and of course- my number one supporter whether it'd be music or wrestling. I know I can always count on you and most importantly, I'm forever grateful to have you by my side every day. _

I close my phone down and I look over at my boyfriend who's now asleep. I smile and I kiss him on the cheek, making him smile in his sleep before I settle next to him and I sleep too.

_Interview with Alternative Press: May 21st, 2019. _

_Lyra Crowe premieres new music video for "Take Me" with cameo of boyfriend Aleister Black for his birthday and we catch up with her about the single and what inspired her to write such a soulful song. _

_"I wrote it a few months back. I've always tried to be as open and honest as I can be with my audience and it's shown quite a bit with Unbreakable being released- I always try to write from experiences and emotions that I feel at that time. Whether it's true love, or even heartbreak. But the one thing I've always wanted to write about is the really deep connection that you build when you find the person you consider your other half." Crowe explains. "So 'Take Me' is about the trials and tribulations that you go through as a couple and how you grow together and as individuals. It can either be a breakup or it creates a very special bond where you're both lifting each other up. _

_I am so very lucky to have someone (Aleister Black) that never lets go of my hand and that means so much to me that the thought of losing it is like taking all of the air out of that space. I wouldn't be able to even function. But for the most part, this song is me telling Aleister- I need you. Save me from whatever I'm dealing with." _

_You can stream Take Me on Spotify and iTunes now. _


	9. Chapter 9: A Grave Mistake

(Song: "A Grave Mistake" by Ice Nine Kills. This chapter is gonna be a fun one for me because I'm intertwining one of my favorite films of all time into this story- that would Brandon Lee's The Crow. And if you haven't seen The Crow, here's a small synopsis: It's about a rockstar and his fiancé who are about to be married on Halloween- the night before, they get beaten and killed and with the power of The Crow, Eric Draven comes back to life in order to fix what had happened to him and his fiancé. It's a beautiful but dark story.

Anyways, I wanted to have Lyra take Aleister to the 25th anniversary screening of The Crow and have him experience the film as well- and Lyra is going to be performing this song with the guys from Ice Nine Kills too. I hope you enjoy. See you soon. xx -TM)

_The 25th Anniversary Screening of The Crow: TCL Chinese Theatre- Hollywood, CA. June 5th, 2019. _

As we're enjoying our time off since we won't be at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia, Aleister and I are thrilled to be heading to LA for the 25th anniversary screening of The Crow at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

I'm also meeting up with Spencer Charnas and Dan Sugarman from the band Ice Nine Kills. We're going to be performing their song, that's inspired by The Crow- "A Grave Mistake" at the screening.

For my outfit, I'm wearing the burgundy bomber jacket from Stay Cold Apparel, the "Bloodlust" midi dress from Killstar as well as my "Banshee" flats to complete it. I use Jeffree's "Blood Sugar" palette for my eyes, the "24K" highlighter palette and "Christmas Cookie" on my lips.

I use my black eyeliner to drag a line from the top of my forehead to the bottom of my eye so it looks like Eric Draven's makeup in the movie but more of a modern "Crow" look. I adjust my crow skull necklace and my "Little Crow" choker.

I set my face with setting spray and I fan my face off before I walk out of the bathroom of our hotel room that we're staying in for the night before flying back in the morning, I see Aleister as he's getting ready for the screening, he's buttoning up his black button-down shirt before his eyes look up into the reflection, noticing and taking me in.

"Little Crow," I hear his voice and I immediately become more self-conscious. I look away from him and his eyes.

"What? Is it too much?" I say, my voice soft.

Aleister turns to me as if he can sense my insecurity and he walks over to me.

"No. No, hey. Lyra," Aleister's hand lifts my chin up and my eyes meet his. "There's no need for you to feel so self-conscious. You know you're beautiful, liefde. You know that, deep down. I don't need to tell you that because it radiates off of you."

My heart melts at his way of trying to make me feel at ease and I smile.

"Thank you, Shadow." I whisper. Aleister nods and he brings me into his arms- I breathe in the scent of his warm skin, the slightest brush of his cologne and the vivid scent of candle smoke.

When I pull away, Aleister kisses the top of my head and my smile strengthens. After locking my arm in his, we take off for the TCL Chinese Theater to go see The Crow.

On the ride over, I start to feel nervous because I have to perform with Ice Nine Kills and it's the first real time that I've performed, musically in front of an audience and have done something in front of an audience that wasn't wrestling related. Aleister senses my nervous energy and he slips an arm around my waist and brings me closer to him to help calm me down. I close my eyes against him and hold onto him.

"You'll do great," Aleister murmurs before he kisses me softly. "Trust me."

I nod and we get out of the car and hit the red carpet together before walking inside, keeping my hand in his.

"Lyra!" I turn and see Spencer and Dan from Ice Nine Kills. I smile and let go of Aleister and say hello to them.

"Hi, guys." I say as I give them both hugs and I bring Aleister over. "Aleister, this is Spencer Charnas and Dan Sugarman from Ice Nine Kills. We're going to be performing a song together that they wrote for The Crow and Brandon Lee, _A Grave Mistake_."

Aleister nods and I watch as they shake hands. We all head into the theater and we listen to the cast and James O' Barr who created The Crow talk about the film when we take our seats- me, Aleister, Dan and Spencer toward the front but not too far because I'd have to tilt my neck which would hurt after a while. Dan, Spencer and I take the stage after James O' Barr steps off.

"I'm Lyra Crowe," I say before gesturing to Dan and Spencer who are getting out their acoustic guitars. "Are you guys excited to see The Crow?" I hear the crowd respond and I smile. "This is the first time that I'd ever seen The Crow in theaters. But before the film, myself and Ice Nine Kills have a special song that we're going to play for Brandon Lee. This is _A Grave Mistake_."

They start playing their guitars and I listen as Spencer starts to sing, waiting for my moment to join in.

"_Here lies a lifeless bride and groom_  
_Till death do us part came far too soon_  
_Buildings burn and people die_  
_All of the time_

_But I heard that you reap what you sow_  
_So around and around we go_  
_And when you see my face you'll know_..."

I nod along before joining in with my vocals into the song- resting my hand around the microphone.

"_You can't save yourself or save your soul_

_When you meet the man whose life you stole_  
_With weathered wings and broken bones_  
_A flight for the fallen, flies the crow_  
_You can't save yourself_

_These vengeful thoughts trapped underneath_  
_Rage, scorn, misery_  
_Payback for what you took from me_  
_Hope, love, sanity_

_I've heard that you reap what you sow_  
_So here's to believing in ghosts_  
_Now when you see my face you'll know..._"

I let my emotions sink into the lyrics of the song as I perform it and as I scan across the audience, I see Aleister with a slight smile across his face, so I smile a little too.

"_You can't save yourself or save your soul_  
_When you meet the man whose life you stole_  
_With weathered wings and broken bones_  
_A flight for the fallen, flies the crow_

_No forgiveness, just farewell_  
_From the match made in heaven_  
_You sent straight to hell_  
_No forgiveness, no escape_  
_May you rest in pieces_  
_For your grave mistake_

_For your grave mistake_

_You can't save yourself or save your soul_  
_When you meet the man whose life you stole_  
_With weathered wings and broken bones_  
_A flight for the fallen, flies the crow_  
_You can't save yourself_  
_No you can't save yourself_

_For your grave mistake_  
_You can't save yourself.._."

The crowd are up on their feet, applauding us and I take a bow alongside Dan and Spencer before we all break away and find our seats to watch the movie. Aleister greets me with a warm kiss and he wraps his arm around my shoulders. I move to rest my head on his shoulder as the film starts.

As we get to the scene where Eric starts to come back to life and becomes The Crow- when he finds Gabriel again and I bite back a laugh as Aleister sees the white cat and how he looks like Totty and he grins. I move closer to Aleister and so he scoops me up, so I'm sitting across his lap- I move my head down against Aleister's chest so I don't block the screen.

"You know this movie is cursed, right?" I say, keeping my voice low and quiet. Aleister moves his hand through my hair.

"Cursed? How?" Aleister murmurs.

"Because of what happened to Brandon Lee," I explain. "He was shot and killed on set of The Crow."

"What? Did he really?" I nod and Aleister holds me closer.

"Yeah. They used CGI to put Brandon's face on another actor so that they could film the rest of the movie," I say softly. "But it's all true. He did die on set because of a mistake with a gun prop."

Aleister looks at me and he has a fascinated look in his eye. I smile and I kiss him on the cheek.

"There's a whole video about it on YouTube," I tell him. "I'll show you when we get back to the hotel."

"That's so fascinating though," Aleister whispers. "I'm not going to ever look at this movie the same way again."

I nod again and his arms hold me closer to him as we both watch the movie. I softly repeat Brandon's lines as Eric as well as softly sing "_Burn_" by The Cure and Aleister smirks at me.

"What?" I say quietly, pushing him playfully. He chuckles softly and kisses my forehead.

"I never knew how much you loved this movie," He says, his voice quiet but warm.

"The Crow means a lot to me because of the tragic story," I explain. "I used to watch this movie all the time when I was a teenager. I remember all the soundtrack songs by heart."

"That's absolutely adorable," Aleister tells me and I giggle softly. He kisses my temple and holds me.

As the film goes on- I hear a bang sound and I shrug, thinking it's probably the movie until I hear it again, this time louder. Aleister's arms tighten around me, almost protectively. I start to panic before the shots come into the theater that we're in.

Aleister quickly pushes me down so that I'm out of the way. I hear screaming as people are scattering to leave the theater.

"Babe? What-What's happening?" I stutter as I see a woman getting shot- Dan and Spencer having left the scene. Aleister looks over at me and he keeps me close.

"There are gunmen in the theater with shotguns. They're looking for us." Aleister says through his teeth.

I hear footsteps walking up the steps and I stay completely quiet and as one of the gunmen find where we are, I hear another shot and a sharp pain hits my collar bone. I quickly touch my right collar bone and I see blood- I'd been shot.

"Aleister," I say and Aleister's attention switches to me. I shrug my bomber jacket off and I show him the wound on my collarbone. His eyes widen in concern and he quickly reaches for me- he picks me up and he side steps their shots, he also elbows them both in the temple, knocking them straight out.

When we're able to get out of the theater, Aleister pulls me aside and he sets me down on a bench outside, he gets a better look at my collarbone- where the bleeding has ceased and it's dried against my skin.

"It looks like the bullet only grazed you." Aleister says before gritting his teeth. "I'll kill them for this."

"I'm so scared, Shadow," I whimper and Aleister's expression softens. "He's going to kill me. I know he will."

"Hey. Don't say that, Little Crow." Aleister murmurs. "Come here, liefde."

He gathers me into his lap and he holds me tightly as I bury my head in his chest and I cry into him.

"I'm not going to let Devon or whoever he's working with hurt you, okay?" Aleister's voice is soft and comforting. "You know I refuse to let you get hurt by someone like him again."

I sniffle and I look up at him, he cups my cheek in his palm and he rests his forehead against mine.

"I promised you I'd keep you safe, liefje." Aleister whispers. "And I won't break that promise- do you hear me? He'll never pry you out of my arms, Lyra. Never. I love you."

"I-I love you too." I say and he kisses me softly. I knot my fingers in his hair and my arm wraps around his neck.

He breaks away and smiles softly, placing his lips firmly against my forehead. I close my eyes against him as I gather my breath again and calm down. I know he's right. Aleister made sure Devon didn't hurt me before and I know he won't let him do it again.

He then picks me up and he takes me to get my collarbone looked at- and he was in fact right again, the bullet only grazed my collarbone. The bullet had hit my subclavian vein, so it only bled for a minute or two and then it stopped.

I was told not to be in the ring or move my collarbone for four to six weeks and while I was getting my wound treated, Aleister made calls to let everyone know at NXT that I'll be out for a little bit.

But as I was taken care of and patched back up, I still couldn't get the image of those two men with the gold skull masks and the shotguns they were carrying. And the scar on the right eye of the mask.

"Those masks had a scar on the right eye," I say and Aleister looks up from his phone. "So whoever did this tonight either is named Scar or goes by it like it's some kind of nickname."

"Whoever this 'Scar' might be," Aleister says. "If I ever see him or Devon again- I'll destroy them all. They're not going to get away with this."

I take a deep breath and nod, Aleister wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close- his chin resting on my head.

Whoever they are, I hope Devon knows that war is coming. And I know Aleister's not going to give up until this is finally over and we can move on with our lives and our love.

(Uh-oh. Devon and Nikolai are on their way... This isn't going to be good. Let's hope the Little Crow and Shadow can survive it all. See you next time. -TM)


	10. Chapter 10: Bad Love

_June 12th, 2019- Orlando, Florida._

****Footsteps. So many footsteps behind me. I quicken my pace, hoping that whatever is following me will stop and move on. But as I do, I stumble and fall.****

****I see that I'm surrounded by the gunmen-********the same ones who were in the theater with the gold skull masks and the scar on the right eye and they have their shotguns, the same weapon that injured my collarbone. ****

****"Your days are numbered, Crow. No one is going to save you now." ****

****I scream as I hear the sounds of the shotguns being loaded and I'm paralyzed- as if I'm completely frozen to this one spot before the next shot is heard****.

"Lyra! Lyra, wake up." I'm still screaming as my eyes open and I feel a throbbing pain from the gunshot scar on my collarbone- I look around and I see Aleister, who's looking over at me in concern and the cats, who have been spooked by my screaming. I shrug him away as he moves closer to me. "Calm down. You're safe, Little Crow."

As I try to find a way to calm myself down, Aleister breathes a sigh and he pulls me close as I wipe away my tears- his arms wrapping around me as I lay my head on his chest.

I breathe him in, the lightest scent of his skin as well as the vagueness of candle smoke and vanilla. He takes my shaking hands in his own before bringing them up to his lips and placing kisses onto them, his thumb tracing my Death's Head Moth tattoo on my hand. He puts my hand on his chest and I feel his heartbeat right beneath my palm.

"You feel that, don't you?" Aleister's voice is soft and warm. I nod as I look at him. "Good. Focus on it and breathe, liefje. Breathe."

It takes a few moments but I try to keep my breathing as close to the way his heart is beating and eventually I feel at ease and I feel better. Aleister kisses my forehead softly and his fingers curl into my crimson hair, running through the strands- his other hand resting on my back, thumb making circles into my skin.

"I keep having this stupid dream," I say as Aleister's hands move from my hair and he cups my cheek. "After what happened at the screening, I'm surprised I'm still alive."

"Sh. Don't talk like that," Aleister murmurs as he holds me closer. "Please don't talk like that."

"I can't help it," A tear falls down my cheek. "Devon's even more dangerous now that he has manipulated someone into working with him. It's only a short matter of time before he finds me and kills me, like he wanted to back in Blackpool."

"Hey," Aleister rests his hand on my back as I cry into his skin. "Devon's not going to do anything to you. I don't care who he's working with, if he even tries to get near you- I'll destroy him and his 'friends'. He wasn't able to pry you out my arms before and he isn't going to now. I love you with every fiber of my own existence, liefde and I will always fight for you until the day I die. You mean everything to me."

"I know. I love you too, Shadow," I murmur with a sniff as I sink my fingers in the strands of his hair before bringing his lips to my own and I kiss him deeply. His arms tighten around my waist as he holds me.

I break away and lay my head on his shoulder, his thumb wiping away the last of my tears. He places a kiss onto my temple.

"Now I can't sleep," I say as I look up at him. "Because I'm afraid of having another nightmare."

"I have an idea," Aleister says as he takes my hand and we get out of bed. I sigh as he brings me downstairs to our garage- which he has turned into our gym. "How about you and I train? It'll help you take your mind off of it."

I smile at his kind gesture. Aleister and I train for an another hour- he has me work on my striking and allows me to work at my own pace as well as watch my breathing between each strike- which helps me relax and feel better, the nightmare slipping away from my mind.

"Good, Lyra," Aleister says as I finish my last set of strikes against the punching bag. I move to take off my gloves as I wipe away the sweat off my face. "Feel better?"

I nod and I kiss him on the cheek. "Much," I say. "Thank you, Shadow. That's just what I needed."

"Of course, liefje," Aleister kisses my head. "Anything for you."

We head back upstairs to our room and shower off the sweat from our training earlier. As I'm about to get out of the shower, I feel Aleister's body press against mine. I shiver as I feel his lip ring against my shoulder blades and they move up to the side of my neck, feather-light kisses.

"Shadow," I breathe as I turn to face him. He smiles a devilish smile and he kisses me before pinning me against the wall with his hands. Even though I feel as exhausted as I do, I will never pass this up.

We finally collapse against each other back in our room, in our bed and I drift back to sleep in Aleister's arms.

When I wake up- Aleister's gone and I see a note next to my favorite kind of Red Bull, I smile and I read the note, noting that Aleister had to leave and finish a few things at the Black Mass warehouse but he said he'll be back shortly. I sit up in bed and I open up my can of Red Bull and I put in one of the metal straws that Jeffree gave me and drink it to tide me over.

I make breakfast for myself and I feed Totty, Tubby and Luna- who are more than happy to eat, they swarm their cans almost as if they're a pack of hungry wolves- which makes me laugh and it also gives me inspiration to write my next song.

I head upstairs to the music room that Aleister had put in for me to write and work on songs- the room is lined with band posters, as well as my guitars on the wall and my piano. I sit on the bench next to my piano with my notebook in hand.

For some reason, the inspiration for this song came from not only what happened this morning but also because I've seen the darker side of what love is, and so I call it "Bad Love". I start jotting down the lyrics that came from when I watched the cats eat like wolves.

_We are like wolves in the dead of night_

_Scratch and claw, holding on for life._..

I work on the song for almost an hour until I hear the front door open and I hear Aleister calling for me as well as meowing from the cats downstairs. I lift my head up and I set my pen down.

"Upstairs!" I call. Aleister's footsteps head upstairs and I see him standing in the doorway with a huge smile on his face and I raise a brow. "What?"

"Remember when I told you that I left this morning to go check on the warehouse?" Aleister says and I nod. "Well, I lied. I have a surprise for you."

That causes both of my brows to raise and he walks into the room carrying what I assume is a cat carrier. Aleister sets it on top of my piano and then he opens it- inside is a beautiful tortoiseshell exotic kitten, who looks confused but puts her head out of the carrier. My heart melts as I gently reach for her and pull her into my chest.

"Oh, Shadow. She's precious," I say as I pet her- making her purr and nuzzle into my chest. "I thought you said you didn't want any more cats in the house after we got Luna?"

"That changed after I saw her, Little Crow," Aleister tells me. "I knew I had to bring her home."

"I can see why, she's the most adorable thing," I say as I scratch her behind her ears. "Did you name her already?"

"Her name is Pickles," Aleister explains. "Pickles Pumpkin."

"Right. Of course it is," I mutter, rolling my eyes and trying to not facepalm over the dorkiness that is my boyfriend naming the cats after grocery items. I put her down onto my piano, where she lays peacefully, meowing softly and stares at me as I grab my phone and I start texting Jeffree.

_Me: Aleister and I got a new kitten and he wants to name it "Pickles Pumpkin_" ? ﾟﾙﾄ?.

A moment later- my phone buzzes with a text from Jeffree and I unlock it to read & respond to the message.

_Jeffree: ? __ﾟﾘﾂ__? Oh my God- Lyra, your boyfriend is something else. I'm deceased. Please ask him if he's high?_

"I told Jeffree that you wanted to name her Pickles and he wanted to ask if you were high," I say and Aleister rolls his eyes.

"No, I'm definitely not high. Thank you very much, Jeffree." Aleister groaned as I laugh and I wrap my arm around his shoulder as he leans against the piano.

"All jokes aside, it's cute." I giggle as I kiss him on his jaw. "As long as you let me give her a normal middle name like Poppy or Petunia or something."

Aleister thinks over it for a few minutes and then he shrugs. "Petunia is cute," Aleister murmurs as he takes my hand in his. "At least I'm not Jeffree, who names all six of his dogs after words that start with the letter 'D'."

I snort in amusement as he drags Jeffree and I smack him playfully on the chest. "Babe! But you love those dogs, remember?" I tell him. "Don't lie."

"True," Aleister says and I chuckle and I text Jeffree back, telling him what Aleister said as well as what he said about the dogs. My phone buzzed again and I couldn't contain my laughter, Aleister raising a brow, so I show him the message from Jeffree.

_Jeffree: I wasn't expecting the drag, but I appreciate it. _

Aleister chuckles and nods. "Anytime, Jeffree."

Aleister and I head back downstairs after we get Pickles situated- I decide to go through the packages that I've gotten from my favorite brands while we've been gone, stuff from Killstar, Dollskill, Nasty Gal, Current Mood. As I'm going through the package from Jeffree's makeup line, seeing that his new "The Gloss" lip gloss collection is out- I notice something that catches my eye. There's a lip gloss shade with a note attached to it.

_Lyra, _

_I wanted to send this to you earlier but I know you both won't be home when I reveal the line for The Gloss but if you could do me a favor and give this to Aleister for me, I'd appreciate it because it's his belated birthday present. _

_This is a special shade- black as the void but with a dose of shimmer, it's called "Dutch Destroyer", I named it after him because I was inspired by his story that he posted for Pride month on his Instagram and for that, he now is a part of the Jeffree Star Cosmetics family. _

_"Dutch Destroyer" can be worn over any lipstick to give it a darker twist or persona, like his character or for any one to live their best black metal fantasy. _

_I hope he loves it as much as I did when I made and designed the formula_.

_Love you both_,

-_Jeffree. _

My heart feels so happy and full- my best friend going out of his way to support my boyfriend really means so much to me.

"Shadow!" I yell and Aleister comes into our living room. "Jeffree sent you a belated birthday present."

I hand him the note from Jeffree and his special shade of "The Gloss"- Aleister reads the note from Jeffree, it takes him a second and his eyes widen.

"Wait... No way." Aleister says and I smile as he turns it upside down to read the packaging and he grins when he sees his nickname on it. He opens it and out slips the lip gloss with a top that has a pair of devil horns. "This is absolutely insane. Have I told you that I love your friends?"

"Maybe once or twice," I say and Aleister kisses my cheek multiple times, making me giggle. "You should really thank Jeffree. He loved your story that you shared. That's why you have a lip gloss named after you."

"I will when I see him next," Aleister tells me. "This is probably the best gift I've ever received alongside your song that you wrote for me."

I grin and I wrap my arm around him, smiling. I take the bottle and I test it by swatching it on Aleister's wrist. He raises a brow when I turn on the flashlight on my iPhone and I can see how reflective it is.

"Wow. Jeffree wasn't kidding about the formula," I say. "I don't think I've ever seen a black lip gloss look this good."

"Lyra, he named it after me," Aleister says. "It's supposed to look this good."

"Shut up, babe." I laugh and I push him playfully and he chuckles, kissing the top of my head.

_Making of "Bad Love" Music Video: Star Studios- Los Angeles, CA. _

"And that's a wrap!" I smile as the crew all applaud. I've been working on this music video all day for my new song called "_Bad Love_". And I've got a mascot for the music video, Bob- the ball python. She's in a majority of the scenes in the video, where I'm on the bed with the rose petals as well as me holding her as I sing.

The other scenes are of me sitting in a chair across from a vanity- wearing nothing more than a black crop top and a pair of Killstar panties and fishnet tights as well as a scene of me climbing up this staircase and I'm dressed in a black vinyl set with a pentagram belt from Killstar, me in the living room wearing a dress from Widow and then the last scene of the video is of me in the bathtub that's full of rose petals and I'm wearing a mesh top with a black vinyl bralet and a pair of black panties.

After the video was shot, I had a shoot for the single with Bob the snake, where I'm wearing a Blackcraft crop top and the Killstar panties. I chose the photo of me with Bob wrapped around my neck and she slithers over my tattooed hand. Because I'm really happy with the way it looks.

I couldn't wait to get this song out to the world. Because I feel that this one is one of my favorite songs that I have written to date.


	11. Chapter 11: Diamonds Are Forever

(Song: "Diamonds" by Rihanna. I wanted to take time and have this section be about the abrupt passing of Jeffree's beloved Pomeranian, Diamond- whom Lyra was really close to. And so, be prepared to cry a little and there will be more of Devon and Nikolai. Don't worry your pretty little head off. I hope you all are doing well and have had a great holiday. See you all real soon. xx -TM)

_Lyra and Aleister's Home- Orlando, Florida: June 16th, 2019. _

Today Aleister and I were in the garage training with Sheamus for his YouTube channel, Celtic Warrior Workouts. Sheamus wanted to get a camera shot of Aleister and I training with the bags while I strike- so I throw on one of Aleister's BlxckMass tees that I cut up into a crop top and pair of my "Galaxy Mono Ninja" pants from Black Milk Clothing and I put my hair up in a messy ponytail.

As I'm working the set with Aleister- my phone, which is in my back pocket starts ringing. I ignore my phone until I hear it going off again.

"Hold on, babe." I say and Aleister nods as he sets the pads down- I undo my gloves and I set them aside and grab my phone out of my back pocket. I press the answer button on my phone. "Hello?"

"Finally you answer your fucking phone," I hear Jeffree's voice on the other line and he sounds distraught. "I've been trying to call you for the last hour now!"

"I'm sorry. I told you that we were working on a YouTube video today," I say but my voice changes when I hear Jeffree sobbing hysterically. "Jeffree. What's going on?"

"Honey, Diamond passed away." A wave of pure shock runs through my body and I move away from Aleister and the cameras and I slide against the wall- pulling my knees up to my chest.

"How?" I ask, my voice is small. "What happened to her?"

"Diamond died of heart failure. You know she's always had a health problem because she was bred small. She got sick when I wasn't home because I was doing those makeup classes across Europe. Nate had to bring Diamond to the vet but it was already too late." Jeffree explained. "I wanted to call you because Nate and I know how close you were to Diamond and we wanted to let you hear the news first."

"Thank you for telling me," I say. "I'll be sure to let Aleister know. I'm sorry for your loss and if you need anything, be sure to give us a call."

The call ends and I remembered that I still had this video to do with Aleister and so I try to keep myself together until the cameras cut. As Aleister has Sheamus working on striking on the punching bag- he turns to me.

"Lyra? Hey. What's going on, liefje?" Aleister asks as I take a breath and blink away the tears that threaten to come into my eyes.

"That was Jeffree," I say softly. "Diamond just died."

Aleister's eyes widen in shock and I nod. "What happened, Little Crow?"

"Diamond died of heart failure," I explain and try to keep my voice from breaking. "Jeffree wasn't home when it happened. She's always had something going on with her health because he got her from a puppy mill and she was bred small. I knew something like this was going to happen sooner than later but.."

I completely let all of the tears that I had held onto go. Aleister pulls me away from our garage and then he wraps me in his arms.

I sob and I bury my head on his chest as his hands rest on my back. He shushes me and rubs my back tenderly while I cry into his skin.

He tenses as he holds me too because I know he hates hearing stuff like this- especially with animals and he knows how close I am to Jeffree's dogs. And the reality knowing that it will be the same for him with the cats when they leave.

Aleister kisses the top of my head softly. "I know you're in a lot of pain, Lyra. I promise I'll do whatever I can to make you feel whole again. You have my word, liefde." I nod against his skin. It takes a few more minutes before I start to calm down again.

"Jeffree's the one who needs the support right now," I sniff. "He never got the chance to say goodbye."

As if on cue- my phone goes off again and I get a text from Jeffree. I unlock my phone and I read it.

_Nate and I just picked Diamond up from the vet's office. We're bringing her home so that the dogs could say goodbye to her. _

I choke up again and I hand Aleister my phone so he could read the message. He does and his breathing becomes heavier and I watch as he rubs his face.

"Diva's going to take this the hardest," I tell him. "Diva raised Diamond as his own. I can't even imagine when Jeffree and Nate bring her home. He's going to be devastated."

I picture Diamond being surrounded by the other dogs and Diva trying to wake Diamond up by nudging her and sniffing her but he can't wake her up so he starts whimpering.

The thought alone brings tears to my eyes. Aleister wraps an arm around my shoulders and presses a comforting kiss to my temple.

"Tell you what," I look up at Aleister after he lifts my chin up with his hand so I meet his eyes. "When we donate and help an animal in need, why don't we do it in Diamond's honor?"

I give him a watery smile and I wrap my arms around his neck as I kiss him on the cheek. "Babe, that's the sweetest thing ever. Diamond would love that so much."

"It's the least that we could do to keep Diamond's memory alive," Aleister murmurs. I nod and he wipes away the last of my tears.

After the video with Sheamus is done, I head back upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes. I wear a graphic tee from Dollskill and a pair of plain black leggings as I sit down on the couch and go through Jeffree's text messages and watching the videos he sent me of Diamond. There was one video that I always went back to- it was when Jeffree and Nate were watching NXT when I first started managing Aleister and I came out with him, Diamond saw me- she was excited and started barking and whining at the TV and tears fall down my face.

I feel Aleister's hand on my shoulder and I look up, I see him sitting next to me with a sad smile before he pulls me to him so I'm laying with my head across his lap. He runs his hand gently through my hair as I cry again. He takes my hand in his free hand and he places a kiss on the back of my hand- his thumb tracing my death's head moth tattoo.

"She's not hurting anymore," Aleister whispers. "You have to remember that."

"I know, babe," I sniff as I look at him. "I just.."

"You didn't get a chance to say goodbye and neither did Jeffree," Aleister murmurs and I sob again. "I understand, Little Crow."

He continues to run his hand through my hair softly and he holds me closer- he feels my tears against his skin as I bury my head against his shoulder.

"I wasn't around Diamond enough. But when I did see her, I knew how much she meant to you. I know how hard it is for you to lose her. But I'm always going to be here for you, liefde." His voice is warm and soft as he cups my face in his hand, thumb wiping away my tears. "I love you, Lyra."

"I love you too, Aleister. More than you'll ever know," I whisper as he kisses the top of my head. "Thank you for always being my anchor."

"There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you," Aleister says as he kisses my cheek. "You know that."

He lightly places a kiss onto my lips and I curl my fingers in his hair for a moment- eliciting a soft growl from him. I rest my head back on his chest and I close my eyes against him as he holds me and comforts me.

He'd always be my rock, no matter what and if there's anyone who could get me through this, it's him. As I rest and try to keep calm in Aleister's arms, I went through my Instagram and I saw Jeffree's post, which made me sob as Aleister kisses the top of my head and rubs my back again.

I go through my phone and I pick out some pictures of me with Diamond from back in 2017 and 2018 and the last video I took- which had been when I brought Aleister to meet the dogs at Jeffree's and Aleister was listening to Diamond 'talk' to him because she loved to bark.

_athena_steele: I'm absolutely heartbroken. Diamond was such an important light in my life. She showed me that even when you struggle or if you're in pain, to keep fighting through and overcome it all with a smile. My heart is with you jeffreestar & datschwandt. #RIPDiamond _

The next day, Aleister has his tattoo artist, Daniel Selleck, fly out from Amsterdam so that he could get some new tattoos and he had invited a few friends over so they could get tattoos if they wanted- which I didn't know about until I heard the sounds of a tattoo machine from my music room upstairs.

I go downstairs, wearing nothing more than a black tanktop and a pair of black velvet leggings from Black Milk Clothing and I see Aleister getting his leg tattooed.

"Well, if it isn't Pale Daughter," I hear a very familiar British accent. I freeze because only The Bullet Club guys call me that. I look up from my phone to see Marty Scurll, whom I haven't seen in almost two years now. He's in his Villain bomber jacket, a black tee and jeans.

"Marty!" I say as I hug him- he chuckles as he hugs me back. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Lyra," Marty says. "How've you been, darling?"

We sit on the couch and we catch up as I bring him up to speed on everything that's been going on with NXT as well as my music career- which he congratulates me for Unbreakable's release which I thank him before I go to check on Aleister, who's just finished getting his tattoo as well as a dagger on the other side of his face.

Aleister pulls me into his lap after a while and starts to kiss my temple softly and I giggle- as this is happening, Marty looks completely oblivious before he realizes that we're together.

"Aw. I knew you two would find each other again," Marty says as Aleister chuckles. "How long have you been together for?"

"Nearly a year," Aleister explains as he kisses my head. "I do owe you a thank you, Marty."

"What for, Tommy?" Marty asks.

"For telling Lyra that you and I hung out the night when I asked about her," Aleister tells him. "If you hadn't texted her, Lyra would have taken her life that night."

A look of shock crosses Marty's features as he looks at me. "Is this true, darling?" Marty says and I shake my head at him. "I'm glad to hear that, Lyra and I'm proud of you for staying alive."

I nod as I rest my hand on Aleister's arm and he intertwines our hands. "I kind of had to," I explain. "Because the one person I never thought I'd see again still cared about me and I knew I had to get myself out of that slump and away from the horrible relationship I was in previously. But it's because of you, we're back in each other's lives and I've never been happier and in love."

"I've never been more in love with her too," Aleister murmurs as I wrap my arm around his neck and I kiss his lips.

"Alright. I'm gonna throw up," Marty grumbles with a gagging noise and we start laughing. "And you're welcome, Tommy. I'm glad she's with you. I know you'd be the only one to keep her safe from that Devon numpty."

"Hey, babe," I whisper when inspiration hits me for a tattoo as Aleister looks at me. "I want to get a new tattoo."

"Of course, liefje," Aleister kisses my forehead. "Just tell Daniel what you want. I'm sure he can do it for you."

I get off Aleister's lap and I talk to Daniel about getting my tattoo, which is a memorial piece for Diamond. It's a finelined diamond tattoo on my right middle finger above my death's head moth hand tattoo, which doesn't take very long or hurt as badly as I thought it would.

"That's for Diamond, isn't it?" Aleister asks as he kisses my shoulder after Daniel wraps up my finger. I shake my head.

"Diamond?" Marty says. "Who's Diamond?"

"Diamond was a Pomeranian that belonged to Lyra's friend, Jeffree Star." Aleister says. "Diamond was found at a puppy mill and she had been bred small all throughout her life. She recently passed away when Jeffree wasn't home just a few days ago. Lyra was really close to her."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Lyra," Marty tells me as he rests a hand on my shoulder. I nod.

"That's why I got this tattoo," I tell him. "So that way I can carry Diamond with me and remember how much she meant to me."

Aleister kisses my cheek softly and he rubs my back, happy knowing that I did this so that I could start healing from the grief of losing my friend.

"I think she knows how much you meant to her too," Aleister whispers. "I'm sure she's happy that you have her tattooed on you."

"Just like I have you," I say and he smirks as he pecks my lips softly until Marty clears his throat in which I break away from Aleister and flip Marty off, making him laugh.


	12. Chapter 12: When I'm Not Around

(Song: "When I'm Not Around" by Diamante. In this chapter, we have Lyra releasing her next single as well as the making of the music video and there's also a twist at the end of this chapter. Stay tuned. Also- TW: Torture will be mentioned in this chapter. Just a quick forewarning. x -TM)

_Making of the "When I'm Not Around" Music Video: The Viper Room- Hollywood, CA, July 5th 2019. _

Today, Aleister and I are in Hollywood at one of the most famous concert venues- The Viper Room which was previously owned by Johnny Depp.

I'm filming my music video for my next single "When I'm Not Around" that I wrote as a companion song to "Sorry Not Sorry" which is about Aleister and Zelina- "Sorry Not Sorry" was the anger over the breakup in the letter, this song is more about how Aleister felt underappreciated by Zelina and hurt- so I have Aleister play a role in this video.

He's going to be in a couple scenes at the venue and he keeps seeing Zelina's face- which gets under his skin.

As for me, I'm going to be filmed in different areas of the venue and on stage with my new bandmates Evan, Justus and Lindsay- my guitarists and drummer. I'm dressed in my black bomber jacket from Stay Cold Apparel, a vinyl bodysuit from Dollskill with a pair of black leather leggings and knee high heeled leather boots from Dollskill as well for the stage scenes and for the scenes where I'm roaming the halls of the venue, I wear a mesh crop top from Widow, a faux leather top from Dollskill and matching vinyl leggings and a pair of Killstar "Calista" boots.

After the video shoot, I stayed behind to reshoot a couple of scenes that I wasn't happy with at The Viper Room and then I flew back home to Orlando.

As I'm walking up the driveway to our house, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous- like someone had been watching me the entire time.

When I set my bags down and I go to grab my key to unlock the door- I hear footsteps and unfamiliar hands grab me, I try to break free from the grip and my necklace breaks off my neck as a cloth is brought to my mouth and then suddenly, it's all black.

_Long Farms Warehouse- Apopka, FL. _

I come to and my head is throbbing as I look around- all I see is an empty room. I try to move but I'm handcuffed to a chair and my feet are shackled too. I try to scream when I see two thugs wearing the same gold skull mask with the scar in the eye but there's a bandana over my mouth and the sound is muffled.

"Ah, she's finally awake." I hear a voice that's eerily calm and I turn my head to see a man with short blonde hair that's covered in tattoos and he has a scar on his right eye. "Hello, darling. My name is Nikolai Faust. Scar to others. Do you know why you're here?"

I nod slightly because I know he's talking about Devon and I know Devon has something to do with this.

"I do assume you know why you're here. That's because I spoke with and made a deal with someone by the name of Devon Crane. And he told me that he wanted you dead." Nikolai continues as he tosses a small knife up in the air and catches it with his hand.

I start to shake and I continue to whimper as tears come into my eyes. "You know, I could just kill you now but I want to have some fun first. Just the two of us, you and I. You have no one to save you now. Not even your precious little boyfriend can save you."

I start tapping my foot at the mention of Aleister and Nikolai only chuckles. "Did I strike a nerve, love?"

I continue to tap my foot and Nikolai only laughs. "As if he can actually do anything. I bet you he probably doesn't even know that you're here. Does he now?"

_Please. Just shut the fuck up_. I thought, as I just groan behind the gag. But that only amuses him more and so he turns his back to me and talks to his cronies.

But I do hear him say- "What should we do with her, boys?" and I watch as they start licking their lips through the masks and they slowly start walking toward me. I then feel my shirt getting pulled up and I hear snickering from one of the thugs.

"Boss, she's got scars." Nikolai raises a brow and then he runs his cold touch across my scarred skin and he grins an evil grin.

"Would you look at that, boys? Crane already left us a road map." Nikolai then hands them all a knife and they start to re-open my scars. I start sobbing through the gag until I pass out from blood loss.

-AB's POV-

It's been a few days since I'd last seen Lyra and I'd been very worried. I tried calling Jeffree and Shane and they told me they haven't seen her. I don't understand why she'd just leave without telling me. I pace back and forth in the house until I hear meows from Totty, Tubby, Luna and Pickles. More importantly, Totty.

He rubs his head against my leg and I pick him up. He looks at me with a '_Where's Meowmie, Cetded_'? look and I shrug as I pet his fur.

"I don't know where Meowmie is, buddy. But I'm sure she'll be home soon," I tell him. My phone then goes off and I put him on the couch. I get a text message and it's from the last person I'd ever expected.

_I told you I'd get my revenge, Black. And I'm loving every second of it. -D. _

_Crane. _I growl and I immediately call the number that he'd used to text me from. it rings twice before I hear the line pick up.

"Black. How can I help you?" I hear Devon's voice on the other line and I mentally start cursing in Dutch.

"Where is she?!" I snarl, making the cats jump. "Crane, if you don't tell me where she is, I will personally tear you apart, bit by bit. Where is Lyra?!"

I hear laughter on the other end and as I'm about to speak again- it stops. "Oh, Black. I love getting under your skin. It doesn't feel good, does it? Now you know how I feel when you stopped me in Blackpool. But since you're so keen on saving your 'Little Crow'- she's with a friend of mine. Nikolai Faust. They're at an abandoned warehouse. Have fun."

The line clicks and I quickly race out the door and get into my car and take off for the warehouse in Apopka.

-Lyra's POV-

I come to from the blood loss after Nikolai and his cronies had cut me up with knives and I hear what sounds like a car pulling up to the warehouse. I look around and Scar's left. I then hear the front door opening and a familiar voice echoes throughout the room.

"Lyra? Little Crow, where are you?!" _Aleister. He finally found me_. I quickly try to move the gag away from my mouth by pushing it against my shoulder and it slips off.

"Shadow!" I say and I hear his footsteps follow my voice. He walks into the room and he sees me, a look of relief crosses his features.

He grabs the key and he unlocks me from the handcuffs and shackles. I wrap my arms around him- no matter how badly it hurt to move, and I hug him as tears fall down my cheeks. He closes his eyes against me and holds me closer to him.

"Sh. I'm here now, liefde. I'm here," He whispers as he runs his fingers through my hair and he rubs my back and I start gasping between sobs. "Hey now. Breathe, Little Crow. Breathe."

My body starts shaking as well as it aches from the agony of their knives slicing and re-opening my scars. Aleister slowly picks me up and he walks me out of the warehouse towards the car.

He sets me in the passenger seat and shrugs off his "Damaged Goods" hoodie and hands it over to me and I slip it on. His scent envelops my senses and helps me calm down.

He drives us home and as he does so, I move my hand slowly and put it on top of his. He smiles softly and intertwines them over the console. I rest my head on his arm and I close my eyes.

When he helps me get through the door, Aleister carries me back upstairs to our room and he lays me down on our bed. He cautiously reaches for the hoodie that I have on and I pull away. "Lyra. Can I see?" Aleister's voice is soft and I shake my head. "Liefje. It's me, Shadow. You know I won't hurt you nor will I ever lay a hand on you. You know me better than anyone. I need to take a look at the damage. Is that okay?"

I nod slowly and he helps me take off the hoodie and what he sees shocks him- it also makes him sick to his stomach. He sees all the open scars from when they tortured me and a look of pure rage crosses his features.

"I'm going to kill them both, I swear." Aleister snarls. "I'll destroy them both."

He's so enraged that his body starts to shake and he grits his teeth as he sits across from me on our bed, clenching his fists. I sit up and move slowly toward him and I can see tears in his eyes. I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face into his shoulder.

"I should have stopped it and I didn't," Aleister says. "I'm so sorry, Lyra that I didn't protect you like I should have."

Hearing him say that broke my heart into shatters. "Shadow," I whisper as I lay my chin on his shoulder. "Don't say that, honey."

"You know I'm right, Little Crow," Aleister mutters, darkly. "It's my fault you're hurt. It's all my fault."

I don't say anything more but I run my hand through his hair to comfort him and he breathes a heavy sigh. A moment or so passes between us before he speaks again. "Are you going to hate me now because I wasn't there for you?"

"Shadow. Look at me," I say as I move so I'm straddling his waist and my hands are cupping his cheeks, his eyes meeting mine. "Why would I hate you, babe? I love you. I love you so much that if it was somehow taken away, it'd be like all of the air in that space would be gone. Stop hating on yourself because of this. It's not your fault something like this happened. It's Devon's because he refuses to accept that I'm in love with you and I'm in a happy and healthy relationship now and that you're completely etched into my heart."

Aleister brushes his hand over my cheekbone, his fingers tracing the small cuts on my face when Nikolai had elbowed me when I tried to protect myself from his knife hitting my flesh.

"And you're etched into mine," Aleister murmurs as he places a tender kiss on my forehead. "I'm sorry, liefde. You're right. I just get so wound up when I'm not there for someone that I hate myself for it. I didn't want anyone to hurt you and it hurts me knowing that I should have done something about it or stopped it before it got any worse. That's all. I love you too. I apologize for acting like I did."

"Shh. There's not a single need for an apology, babe," I whisper. He lifts my chin up and he closes the gap between us, bringing his lips to mine. He kisses me deeply and I knot my fingertips in his hair.

He breaks the kiss and he pulls away, walking into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. He then tends to each scar that Nikolai had opened with his knife.

When he's done, he places kisses above each scar that's bandaged and I smile. He then kisses up my arm and to the side of my neck, making me giggle.

"How do you do it?" Aleister asks and I raise a brow.

"What?" I say as I wrap my arms around his neck as his own wrap around my waist- his finger twisting around my promise ring.

"Be as strong as you are even after something like this and still make someone like me feel better." He tells me. I shake my head at him.

"That's because I have you. You make me stronger every day," I whisper. "No matter how sick I am, you always know how to make me feel better and I know how to do the same for you."

Aleister smiles and he kisses me again- holding me to him and I close my eyes against him. No matter what can be thrown at me, at least I have this man by my side. And that's all I need.


	13. Chapter 13: Die For Me

(Song: "Die For Me" by Post Malone, Future and Halsey. Whew. What a rough chapter. I apologize for the torture sequence.

Anyways, this next chapter is the aftermath of what happened to Lyra. As well as Lyra getting the honor of collaborating with the one and only- Post Malone.

Also- Lyra's 'secret' that she tells Aleister actually came from an interview with Andy from Black Veil Brides. I just turned it on it's head a little and made it seem more meaningful for Lyra and as always, short disclaimer: I love Zelina Vega very much and her and Aleister are fucking goals in real life, so don't take what I say seriously. Thanks. See you soon. Much love. X -Tiger)

_TW: PTSD. _

_Lyra and Aleister's Home- Orlando, Florida: July 20th, 2019. _

I turn onto my side in bed and I stare at the clock_. 2:45am._ I sigh softly because this is the second or third night where I haven't slept well- whenever I close my eyes, I still see Nikolai and his cronies and hear the sounds of their laughter as they sliced my skin with their knives. I shudder and I shift onto my back and look up at the celling as I run my hand through my hair.

I look over and Aleister's asleep next to me and the cats are asleep near the end of the bed. I quietly get out of bed without disturbing him and I go into my music room. I walk over to my piano, opening it up and sitting down on the bench.

"Lyra?" I jump as I see Aleister standing in the doorway of my music room and he leans against it, crossing his arms. "Are you okay, _mjin_ _liefje_?"

I shake my head as I wipe away a tear. "Having trouble sleeping," I whisper.

He crosses the room, pulling me into his figure. I wrap my arms around his neck and tears fall down my cheeks. He rests his chin on my head and runs his other hand in a gentle but loving motion on the small of my back.

He places a soft kiss on my head but as he does so, my body starts hyperventilating and shaking in his arms. "Hey, Little Crow. Sh. Follow my voice and breathe, liefde."

He strokes my hair with his fingers as I sob into his skin. He cradles me in his arms and shushes me. A few moments later and my tears start to subside, as they do- Aleister brushes his palm over my cheek.

"You know, I haven't heard you play piano in a while," Aleister murmurs as he moves a strand of my hair aside. I look at him and I slowly glance over at the piano. He's right. He loves when I play music in the house- whether it's me working on my own music or playing music from artists that I love, he's always told me that it brings him a great deal of comfort to hear it whenever we're home. "Maybe it would help you relax a little and calm down."

This glossy black piano was a gift that my mother got me when I turned 16 and she offered to get me lessons and it became the first instrument that I played before I started picking up the guitar. I glance down at our hands, which he now has intertwined and he's rubbing his thumb over my tattoo in comfort. I let his hand go and I put my fingers back on the keys.

"What should I play?" I ask as I look back over at him as he sits beside me on the ground while I'm sitting on the bench.

"Whatever you want, liefje." Aleister says as he kisses my hand. I slowly start to play- I play a medley of different songs and Aleister listens along- even though I know he's exhausted, he keeps a soft smile across his features.

I start from one song and transition into another song- or at least the songs I can think of at the moment before finally transitioning with "_Take Me"_ which is what makes Aleister smile even more. While I play Take Me, it draws the attention of the cats but mostly Totty because he jumps up and sits on my lap. When I finish playing the song, Aleister kisses my forehead warmly.

"How would you feel if I got you an emotional support cat?" Aleister asks as he moves to lean against my piano as I scratch Totty behind the ears, making him purr.

"As much as I would love to have one, I don't think there is such a thing." I say.

Aleister pulls his phone from his pocket and he does a quick google search on emotional support cats.

"Anything a dog can do, a cat can do better." Aleister says to himself after he looks up the results. I start laughing softly.

"Babe, be lucky Jeffree isn't around to hear you say that." I tease.

Aleister rolls his eyes at me. "Oh, please. Jeffree can get over it." He chuckles and I giggle.

Aleister stands up and offers his hand to me and I take it, we move back into our room and I still couldn't help but feel afraid to go to sleep. But I try to anyway. Aleister brings me into his arms and as I lay against him, he suddenly has an idea cross his mind.

"My parents used to do this to me when I couldn't sleep at night," He murmurs as he pulls me closer to his chest. "Close your eyes, Lyra."

I sigh and not even a moment later- I hear him start to sing a lullaby in Dutch and my heart melts into a puddle. His voice is soft and warm and it brings me to tears.

His thumb traces a path from my forehead down to the bridge of my nose and he keeps doing it in a gentle pattern. Eventually I start to relax, my body sinks further in his embrace and as much as I didn't want it to happen, I let sleep consume me.

But as I close my eyes I still see the same image come to mind, the one of Nikolai unsheathing his knife and pulling up my shirt to expose my scars, while the gold masked thugs licked their lips.

"Lyra," I hear Aleister's voice in my ear and my eyes open as I realize that I was on the edge of another nightmare- I look over at him and he wraps his arms completely around me, holding me as close to him as possible. He nuzzles the side of my neck and he kisses my temple. "Sh. No one's here to hurt you, liefje. You're perfectly safe."

I nod sleepily and I sigh, laying my head back on my pillow and staring at the sunlight starting to peek in through our curtains.

"Shadow?" I ask and Aleister brings me back in his arms. "Tell me a secret."

"A secret?" Aleister raises a brow and when he looks at me- he knows I need the distraction so I can sleep better. "Hm. I have a huge collection of Transformers."

I giggle and push his chest playfully as he chuckles. "I already know that, you bozo. Something you haven't told me yet."

Aleister sighs and he brushed my hair back. "I have a collection of gemstones and antique mourning jewelry that I've acquired over the years and most of the jewelry that I collect is over a hundred years old."

I stare at him in wonder. Knowing that he has a fascination with these sort of things brings a smile to my face because it makes me see just how special he really is. He smiles and kisses my head softly. "Alright. I've told you a secret of mine. Now it's your turn."

I move so my fingers are tracing along the tattoos on his right arm as I ponder what I want to say for a few minutes.

"When I was a kid, I used to have severe OCD," I explain as I make circles across his arm. "It was so bad that I believed there were monsters watching me everywhere. I'd physically became so paranoid and terrified of them that if I didn't do a certain ritual day by day, like something as simple as washing my hands a number of times or closing my door behind me that they'd find me and hurt me.

But then as a few years went by- when I was thirteen or fourteen, I discovered horror writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker and Stephen King and I realized that the idea of something as terrifying as what I believed in was actually kind of fascinating and wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. It gave me the courage to face those all of those monsters head on and it made me feel braver and less afraid of the world around me as I grew older."

Aleister's face softens in admiration as he places a warm but deep kiss on my lips.

"That's amazing, liefde," Aleister murmurs as his thumb traces my cheek. "Your secret is so incredible that it puts mine to shame."

I laugh as I squeeze his hand and I kiss his jaw. "No, yours is good too, babe. I love that you collect things like that and you're so passionate about them. I'd love to see them."

He kisses my forehead and holds me as I finally relax and let go of the nightmare. I snuggle into him and exhaustion finally catches up to me. When I wake up- it's pretty late in the morning but when I do, I notice a rose and a note next to my pillow. I pick it up and sit up in bed.

_Come downstairs. I have a surprise for you. I love you. -Shadow_

I smile as I pick up the rose and give it a sniff, I walk into our closet and change into a "Dark Prince" relaxed tee from Killstar and my "Snooze Spirit" pajama bottoms after I shower. I pull my hair into a ponytail and I smell something sweet as I make the descent downstairs as I check my phone.

When I look up from my phone as I walk into the kitchen, my footsteps draw the attention of the cats so I kneel down to pet them and I see my wonderful boyfriend, who's shirtless and is wearing a pair of Blackcraft lounge pants- which only makes me bite my lip. I then notice a bouquet of roses sitting on the table and my heart melts. Aleister looks over at me and he smiles softly.

"Good morning, mijn kleine kraai," Aleister says, his voice in a soft and warm murmur as he places a small kiss on the top of my head and wraps an arm around my waist. "I went out early this morning to get you that bouquet."

"Aw, Shadow," I whisper as I kiss his jaw. "That's so sweet. Thank you."

He smiles and pecks my temple warmly. "You also have a gift over on the counter."

I raise a brow at him and he laughs because he knows I'm not one for surprises but I see a medium sized box wrapped with black silk ribbon. Luna jumps onto the box and paws at the ribbon with a look like- "_Open it, Meowmie_".

I undo the ribbon and I open the box, as I do- what's inside makes my jaw drop to the floor and I cover it with my hand. Inside is my once broken golden crow skull necklace, except it's completely repaired and all of it's damages are gone.

"My necklace," My voice comes out in a gasp. "How did you..."

"I reached out to the shop that I bought your necklace from back home," Aleister explains. "They agreed for me to ship it out so they could make the repairs and fix the damages for you."

I wrap my arms around his neck and he kisses my forehead. "You're the best," I murmur as I blink away tears. "You're seriously the sweetest man I've ever known. Thank you for getting it fixed."

"Lyra, there's not a single thing that I wouldn't do for you," Aleister whispers as he places a tender kiss on my lips. "I love you with all of my heart. You're my everything."

My heart skips a beat in my chest. "I love you too, Aleister," I say. "I love you so much."

He takes my necklace out of the box and I move my ponytail aside- he slips the necklace back on my neck, the crow skull laying against my heart, where it always belonged.

He kisses my head as he then hands me a plate of my favorite breakfast- red velvet pancakes. I smile and as I start to dig in, my phone starts going off. It keeps going off for several minutes and I unlock it- I keep seeing tweets from fans that have tagged me in this article on Twitter. It says:

_Zelina Vega and Aleister Black... Married? _

Fury rushes over me to a point that my body starts shaking. I can't believe this. I can't even believe her and the fact that she would sink this low. I grit my teeth.

"Tommy!" I scream at the top of my lungs and I hear him come back inside the living room.

"Lyra? What's wrong?" Aleister says and I hand him my phone and he reads the article. "Before you get mad, I have nothing to do with this."

"Then why is Zelina saying that she's_ married_ to you?!" I growl.

"Hey, listen to me," Aleister moves closer to me. "I have nothing to do with this. This is all her. She's only doing it to get a reaction out of you."

I shake my head as I start crying. I don't even know what to believe anymore. Devon would do this to me all the time. If he wasn't hitting me, he'd cheat and he'd never hide it from me.

"Do you really think that I would do something like this to you?" Aleister asks. "Little Crow, I would never hurt you or throw our relationship away. I love you with every fiber of my own being. You know that."

"Devon would always cheat so I don't know what to believe," I say. "For all I know, it could be true."

"Lyra! I would _never_ do this to you. _Ever_! I know better than that!" Aleister raises his voice and I slide against the wall, burying my face in my knees as I sob. I've never fought with him because he knows that this is what triggers my PTSD. Arguing, raising voices. I stand up and I head upstairs to my music room and I close the door.

I collapse to the floor and I keep sobbing as I unlock my phone and facetime Jeffree. A few minutes later, he picks up.

"Hey, Lyra," Jeffree says and then he notices my tear stained face. "Oh my God. What's wrong, honey?!"

"Aleister and I got into a fight," I sniff and Jeffree's face softens.

"What happened?! Do I have to fucking fly out to Orlando and give him a piece of my mind?" Jeffree asks and I put my hand up, silencing him before I explain- bringing up the rumors that Zelina started, which causes him to roll his eyes and mutter "_What a crazy stupid bitch_" under his breath.

"I'm starting to wonder whether being with him is actually worth it, though?" I say and Jeffree looks at me with an "_Are you fucking kidding me_?" look.

"Lyra, almost anyone who's in a healthy relationship will eventually fight over something. It's bound to happen, I can't tell you how many times Nate and I have bickered over stupid shit." Jeffree explains. "Listen to me. Don't give up on your relationship or walk away from someone who treats you so good like Aleister does because of something as ridiculous as this. When I first met Aleister, I knew that you two were destined for each other. I saw it in his eyes, you two are meant to be.

That boy loves you so much that he would drop everything in an instant if you needed him- I know that for a fact because he cares about you and you're everything to Aleister. He would never hurt a fly around you and he almost fucking bit the bullet in order to keep you safe from that abusive asshole. I've never seen you happier with anyone else but Aleister and I know that he feels the exact same about you."

"But, Jeffree," I sniff. "He raised his voice. You know how my PTSD is.."

"I know, sweetie. Aleister's probably kicking himself right now because he knows what triggers you and he knows better. Look, take a second and breathe," Jeffree tells me and he gets me to take a deep breath with him, which does help for a moment. "That's it. Breathe and let go of the nonsense that this psychotic bitch started. She's the reason you both got into this fight in the first place. It's not your fault or his fault for that matter. It's Zelina's because she started this to try and get under your skin and wedge herself in your relationship, which is never okay. You both know that deep down inside."

Jeffree's right. I know I shouldn't have gotten mad in the first place and if anything, I should be angry at Zelina and not my boyfriend. Aleister told me he had nothing to do with it and I should have listened instead of being defensive.

"Lyra, you know there's a million other girls out there who would fight to the absolute death to be in your place right now." Jeffree murmurs, breaking me away from my thoughts. "You're so fucking lucky because Aleister is yours and I know you two were put on this planet to be each other's soulmate. He told you himself- he's not The Devil without The Reaper and he needs his Reaper."

I nod. "You're right. Thank you, Jeffree," I say. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Of course. Now, give yourself a bit of time to cool off and then go make things right with that slice of fucking Dutch perfection," Jeffree says. "Goddamn it, he's hot the house."

I roll my eyes. "Alright, stop drooling over my boyfriend," I mumble as Jeffree and I both laugh.

After the call ends, I got the inspiration for a new song- the chorus starting like this: "_Before you're laid to rest and breathe your last breath, 'cause in this life- while you live, you die." _

I play around with the new song and I add a few new lyrics to it as I play my piano but a title doesn't cross my mind yet. Maybe it will later. I step away from my music and with a deep breath, I open the door to my music room and I make a slow and cautious descent back downstairs, Aleister's playing video games and the cats are laying on the couch.

"Shadow," I say, my voice small but loud enough that he hears me. He looks over at me. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so upset over this and I should have listened."

"No. Don't," Aleister's voice comes out in a soft murmur. "I should be the one to apologize. I raised my voice and knowing what triggers you, it was stupid of me."

A tear falls down my cheek and he notices it, his entire body softens but he has a sad look in his eye.

"I hate seeing you cry, even more so knowing I made it happen. Come here, liefje." Aleister says as he sets the controller down after shutting off the console and reaches his hand out to me.

I step to him, taking his hand in my own and he brings me into his chest- and I'm immediately reminded of the first time he ever held me in his arms. How I knew that it'd always be my home. He holds me closely to him, his hands caressing my back with the softest touch until I've run out of tears and all that's coming out of me are small whimpers.

"You're so precious to me, Lyra," Aleister whispers as he cups my face with his hands. "But you have to remember. I'm not Devon, nor will I ever be and I will never ever treat you like he has. I may act like the devil but I will never stoop that low and hurt you like he did- I'm not that twisted and I never will be."

When I get my voice back, I clear my throat as he rests his forehead against mine. "I know. I'll keep it in mind," I say. "But I've been through so much torment that I've completely forgotten about what's real and is right in front of me."

"Liefde, the love that I feel for you will always be real," Aleister murmurs as he puts my hand on his chest and I feel his heart race under my palm. "This heart only beats for you, Little Crow. You bring me a sense of peace that I never even knew existed until you came into my life. I will always love you until the very last day on this earth, even then I'd still love you no matter what."

"I love you too, Shadow." I sniff while my heart melts at his words as he wipes away the last of my tears with his thumb. "You're forgiven."

A loving look crosses his features as he leans in and places a deep kiss on my lips. My fingers curl into the strands of his hair. I gently pull on the strands and I hear a growl come from inside his chest.

I break away from his lips and I start to giggle. He smiles and places a small kiss on the corner of my lips before he moves me on to my back and he starts kissing a trail down my neck. I close my eyes and I run my black nails across his shoulders.

"Shadow," I whimper as his teeth bite down gently on the side of my neck. "Take me upstairs."

Aleister chuckles because only he can get to me in the very special way that he does.

"Your wish is my command, Little Crow." He says as he picks me up, making me squeak rather loudly and he does as I asked- take me back upstairs to our bed.

_Scott Stevens' Studio: Los Angeles, CA- July 21st, 2019. _

Things have kind of settled down since Aleister and I had that fight and I flew out to LA to get Scott's opinion over the new song that I've been working on. We've been at work on it for the last several hours and have finally taken a break. My phone rings not even a minute later as I'm getting some fresh air. I step out of the studio, unlock it and answer it.

"Hello?" I say.

"Is this Lyra Crowe?" I hear a familiar voice on the other end but I can't place it.

"Yeah, that's me." I respond as I lean against the wall and cross my arms.

"Hi, Lyra. This is Post Malone." I almost faint. Post Malone's calling me? _Me_ of all people? I stagger to my feet and stand up.

"Hi." I try to keep my voice professional as possible but even then it fails me. I hear a chuckle from the opposite end.

"I'm sincerely sorry if I freaked you out at all," Post says. "The reason I'm calling you is because I'm working on a new record and I heard your song _Shut Up_ and I absolutely loved it as well as Unbreakable. I was wondering if you'd like to work together on one of my songs?"

He wants to work with me?! I had to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. If I wasn't in shock over this phone call, now it really has kicked in. I could hardly believe what I'm hearing.  
"I'd be absolutely honored to work with you on a song! Absolutely." I say and he laughs at my enthusiasm.

"Great. I'll send you the track in a couple of days," Post responds and then the call ends.

I'm still in an absolute state of shock. Post Malone wants me to be in a song with him? Me?! I take a few breaths before I step back inside and try to get myself together.

"Who were you talking to, Lyra?" I get snapped back into reality when I remember that Aleister had come along to the studio with me.

"I just spoke to Post Malone," I say. Aleister's eyes widen when as he looks at my face. "He wants me to collaborate on a song for his next record."

"You're going to take it, right?" Aleister says and I nod. There's no way I can't say no. This is a big opportunity for someone like me to collaborate with a huge artist like Post Malone.

And so, I do take the opportunity and the song that Post Malone wants to work with me on is a song called "_Die_ _For Me"_ which comes from a perspective of a shitty relationship, which is something I know all too well with Devon.

I got sent the track over the next week and I start working on my end of the song- my lyrics coming from a complete place of anger and frustration, starting with Devon and then transitioning to Zelina and her accusations. And I wrote it in the same style as I wrote Shut Up.

Post Malone's Recording Studio: July 22nd, 2019.

I arrive at the studio, where I meet up with Austin and his record producer. He told me that he's going to call his next record "_Hollywood's Bleeding_" and he sets to release it this September.

"Whenever you're ready, Lyra," Austin says and I nod as I step into the booth and I put on the headphones.

"_Settle down, I spell it out, it's simple enough_  
_I came around, I figured out, should follow my gut_  
_I don't play anymore, I went through your phone_  
_And caught the girls in your DM's and took all them home_  
_And I know it's been a while since the last time you heard from me_  
_Grew into a savage and that's why they gave this verse to me_..."

All I could think about was Zelina, her spreading that lie of being married to my boyfriend and my teeth grit and my fists clench and unclench.

"_Turns out at shows 'cause they turn out at shows_  
_I sold 15 million copies of a break-up note_  
_Brought some strangers in our beds_  
_And now you lost your right to privacy_  
_Spilling all your secrets_  
_When you thought they'd probably die with me_  
_Know you fucking love it on the low_  
_And you don't have to say I'm crazy_  
_'Cause I know nothing's changed though..." _

I step back from the microphone and I still grit my teeth as I set the headphones back and I pace back and forth until I hear a knock on the door that makes me jump because I know Austin didn't want to come in probably because I'd punch him and knowing that I'm trained by one of the best, he knows when to keep his distance until I calm down, which I do.

"Goddamn, who pissed you off? 'Cause you fucking snapped this song!" I hear Austin say as I step out of the booth.

"You don't want to know," I say. He raises a brow and crossed his arms.

"Try me, Scarlet." Scarlet is Austin's nickname for me because of my crimson hair and he always tells me that I remind him of Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch.

It actually annoyed me the first time I heard it when we first met but I'm used to it.

"If you must know, her name is Zelina Vega." I tell him.

Austin unlocks his phone and does a Google search on her and the first thing he sees is the article that was made about Zelina being _"married_" to my boyfriend. He narrows his eyes.

"This bitch is a piece of work, isn't she?" Austin tells me.

"She made Aleister and I get into a fight," I whisper and tears fill my eyes. Austin's expression softens and he pulls me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry she humiliated you like that, Lyra. You don't deserve it," Austin murmurs. "If she ever causes a problem like this with you again, please let me know. I can put a stop to it."

I nod. "Thank you," I murmur. "That means a lot."

"You're my friend," Austin tells me. "I'm not going to let anyone spread lies about my friends."

I smile and wipe away my tears. "You'd probably get along with my friend Jeffree Star," I say. "He doesn't tolerate people talking shit about his friends either."

Austin chuckles. "I'm glad we have that in common."

I laugh and I give him a hug. I stick around to listen to Austin work more on the song before I take off and fly back to Orlando and back to Aleister and my kitties. As soon as I walk in the door, Aleister covers my eyes and he walks me into our living room.

"Shadow?" I giggle. "What are you doing?"

"I have another surprise for you," Aleister tells me as he kisses the side my neck. "Keep your eyes closed. I'll be right back."

I shake my head and I hear his footsteps walking around the house and I keep an amused smirk on my face.

"Alright, Little Crow. You can open your eyes now." I open them and in Aleister's arms is a black exotic kitten and my heart melts into a puddle.

She's completely black but with a little bit of white fur on her chest. She meows at me and when she does so, she sticks her tongue out- just like Jeffree's dog, Da Vinci. I laugh at her.

"She's so cute, babe." I say as he hands her to me and I pet her. She purrs and curls into my arm.

"Lyra, remember what I said about getting you an emotional support cat? Well. This is Betty Beet and she's your emotional support cat. She's certified in PTSD training." Aleister says.

"Shadow," I say. "That's so sweet of you. I love her. She's precious."

As soon as I say that, Luna and Pickles both look at me with an "_Excuse you,_ _Meowmie_" look and I start giggling.

"Hey, I still love you both. So don't give me that look," I playfully retort and Aleister chuckles. I lean in and kiss Aleister softly on the cheek. "I love her. Thank you, babe and it's even more meaningful knowing that she can help with my episodes."

Aleister nods. "Of course, Lyra," Aleister kisses my head. "If there's anyway for me to help with your episodes or at least bring you some comfort, it's the least I can do."

I smile and I kiss him as I let Betty down. Aleister holds me in his arms as I keep an eye on Luna and Pickles as they sniff Betty. Betty moves towards Luna and starts playing with Luna's tail as Pickles watches her. And immediately I can tell that they're going to get along perfectly.


	14. Chapter 14: 100 Little Deaths

(Song: "100 Little Deaths" by Juliet Simms. In this chapter- this is the aftermath of the accusations that Zelina has caused, Lyra has started working on her next single and we also get to see the debut of Aleister Black's "_closet_" songwriting skills- I know, I put that pun in there for a reason, as well as her upcoming feud with Shayna Baszler and her alliance with Rhea Ripley as this is a two part chapter. Stay tuned... x -TM)

_Old City Cemetery- Jacksonville, FL: July 26th, 2019._

After the accusations that Zelina caused begin to settle and die down, Aleister and I are heading out to shoot a lookbook for his clothing line, _BlxckMass Clothing_. He drives to an abandoned graveyard that's the perfect setting for the shoot.

We take photos alongside the cemetery and mausoleums- a few of my favorite photos were taken of me wearing his "_Heritage_" tee and his "_Buried in The Woods_" top as I'm leaning against the statues that line the graveyard. I went kind of subtle with my makeup today but it was enough to make a point and I put my hair in a long braid.

As Aleister's taking photos of me, I see him look up at me from the camera lens.

"You're beautiful, liefje." Aleister murmurs and my heart melts. I blow a kiss at him and smile.

Maybe it was the way I loved the look of the cemetery, but I immediately got inspired to finally finish that song that I was working on. When we take a break, I pull my notebook out from Aleister's "_Burner_" backpack and I sit down next to one of the fountains that lined the cemetery- jotting down the last lines of this song.

After twenty minutes of work, I finish this song and I finally came up with a working title for it. I decided to call it _"100 Little Deaths"._ I grin as I close my notebook.

"You've been working on this song for quite a while now," I jump when I see Aleister standing in front of me, I hate that he's so quiet sometimes. I take a breath as my nerves settle and nod.

"Yeah. I finished writing it," I say with a soft smile. Aleister smiles and he sits next to me, he wraps his arm around my waist and he brings me close to his side, my own arms wrapping around him.

"I didn't mean to scare you, liefde. I'm sorry," He whispers and I shake my head, looking up at him. I place a kiss on his jaw.

"Don't apologize, Shadow. I get so immersed in songwriting that I forget about everything around me." I murmur. Aleister kisses my head as he chuckles and holds me, my head settling on his shoulder. I hand him my written song and he looks over it, reading the lyrics until something crosses his mind. He takes the pen I was once using and he crosses out two of the lines. I raise a brow at him.

"What are you doing?" I ask, looking over his shoulder and Aleister gives me a side smirk as he then rewrites two brand new lines in the song.

"Try this. Trust me, it'll give it more of an edge." He hands me back my notebook, open to a new blank page with the lines he wrote- "_I was born between the church and the devil, in the dirt with one hand to the sky._" and "_You just never know if there's a gift in the curse, you just never know if there's a gift in th_e _hurt._"

"These are great, babe. Since when did you take up songwriting?" I say with a laugh. Aleister places a soft but tender kiss on my lips.

"Since I fell madly in love with a songwriter," Aleister chuckles softly as he cups my cheek with his hand. "I love you, Lyra."

I giggle and I kiss him again, wrapping my arm plainly around the back of his neck. "I love you too. Thank you for adding those lines in. I never would have thought of that." He nods and kisses my forehead before a smirk crosses his face. I raise a brow at him.

"What?" I say and he takes my hand in his before leading me to an open part of the cemetery- and it has a huge meadow with not even a single tombstone in sight and it makes my breath catch in my throat as I look over at him. It's beautiful.

I watch as he starts taking out a blanket and some snacks out of his backpack and he sets the blanket down.

"Are we really picnicking in a graveyard?" I say and Aleister chuckles as he looks at me.

"Why? Did you not want to?" He says, his voice laced with amusement and I watch as he starts taking a Monster and Red Bull out of his backpack- he opens up my can of Red Bull and sticks one of Jeffree's straws in it before offering it to me.

"No, it just surprised me that you had all of this planned, babe." I take the can and I sit with him and I kiss him on the cheek, appreciating his kindness and his gesture as well.

_Making of the "100 Little Deaths" Music Video- July 27th, 2019: Los Angeles, CA. _

I immediately flew back to LA to finish "_100 Little Deaths_" and I wanted to get the music video going as soon as possible. I had a pretty dark concept in mind, for the first half of the video- I'm tied up to a chair and I'm being tortured by someone in a mask, they smash a guitar in my face and blood dripped down my entire face and onto my "Burn In Hell" cropped tee, faux leather pants and Demonia "Hellraiser" boots, as well as using a mirror and smashing it.

Until I break free from the chair that I'm tied to and I fight back- little do I know that the person that is under the mask is myself- as in it's a reminder to keep fighting your demons and it also represents all the times that Devon caused me pain, it was a little death.

The other half would be me performing the song- I wore a mesh "Antisocial" top from Widow, a black faux leather crop top and a pair of jeans from Widow as well and boots from Dollskill- and it's the first time I've worked with an actual band in the video.

After several hours of shooting and with some slight help from Aleister on how the video should look, we wrap it up and I'm really stoked with how it came out.

July 28th, 2019- Orlando, FL.

Aleister and I are at home together and spending time with the cats and while I was working on some new music, I hear my phone buzz. I pick it up and unlock it to see a text from Rhea. I raise a brow as I read it.

_Hey, Lyra. I was wondering if you want to hang out today and get some new ink?_

I grin as I start to type out a response after I set my guitar down and I tell Rhea to come by the house in about an hour or so. Aleister looks over at me and he sees my grin on my face.

"What?" He says and I laugh.

"Oh, I'm heading out in an hour with Rhea." I say as I get up off the couch and I start to head upstairs and get ready. I quickly shower and I put my hair up in a ponytail, before heading into my closet and change into a Killstar "Firebreather" top and a pair of black leggings from Black Milk- I also slip on one of Aleister's Stay Cold Apparel hats before I hear a honk outside.

"Have fun, babe. I'll see you when you get home. I love you." Aleister says as he places a light kiss on my lips before I grab my keys and head out the door and I see Rhea parked outside our driveway.

"Hey, Scythe," Rhea says and I smile as we hug each other. "Let's go get some new ink."

We take off for a tattoo place in Palm Beach called Aces High Tattoo. It's two hours away from Orlando but we stop and get something to eat along the way. We head inside and we meet our artist, Sara- who has black and green hair.

Rhea and I talk to her about our tattoos- Rhea wants to get a mandala with roses on her knee and a quote from Vegeta on her ankle and I want to get the Japanese symbol for "Shadow" on the inside of my arm so it's peaking out when I turn my arm with my crow tattoo. It's a surprise for Aleister. Sara takes me first because mine's quicker than Rhea's. I grit my teeth as she starts the linework.

"So, why Shadow?" I hear Sara say as she's filling in my tattoo. I turn my head toward her.

"Shadow is my boyfriend's nickname," I say. "He also has Japanese tattoos on his arm and I've always found them fascinating."

"That's so cute," Sara says and I smile as she finishes up my tattoo, wipes off the ink. Rhea, who's standing next to me in the chair, she takes a look and a soft look crosses her face.

"Aw, Aleister's going to love that," Rhea tells me and I nod before her voice takes on a teasing manner. "You need to show him. Facetime him right now."

"I can barely lift my arm as it is," I tell her. "Why don't you use my phone to call him and be the camera operator?"

Rhea shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "Your arm is not as bad as getting a full leg sleeve done or getting a knee piece like mine. But, fine. Lemme see your phone."

I hand my phone over and she starts to Facetime Aleister, which he answers in two seconds and I can hear his surprise when he sees Rhea on the other line.

"Rhea? Where's Lyra?" Aleister says and Rhea walks over to me as I'm sitting in the chair.

"Over in the chair. She got another tattoo and she wanted me to show you because she can barely lift up her arm," Rhea explains as she flips the camera over and I extend my arm out so my new tattoo is shown.

"I-I can't believe this," Aleister's voice is in shock when he gets the translation but it's also soft.

"What do you think, Shadow?" I say with a soft smile.

"I think my black heart just melted." He tells me and I start to giggle while Rhea laughs. "It's really dope, babe. I love it and I love you."

I grin. "I love you too, Shadow." And I hear an audible gag from Rhea. "Oh, shut it. You were the one who wanted me to show him in the first place."

Rhea chuckles. "I know and I'm glad you two both had your lovey dovey moment." Her voice becomes deeply sarcastic. "You two are so cute it makes me wanna barf."

Aleister and I both laugh. "May I suggest you close your eyes and cover your ears next time?"

"You know, I would but it's too much fun to not make fun of."

After my new tattoo is wrapped up, Rhea and I switch places and she gets her Vegeta tattoo first and it's a quote which is- "_I do not fear this challenge, rather like a true warrior I will rise to meet it." _

Her stencil for her mandala and rose tattoo on her knee goes on second and I can see her bracing herself for the pain.

"If you need a hand to hold, I'm here," I say and Rhea shakes her head.

"I'm good. But thank you, Scythe. I appreciate it." I watch as Sara gets to work on her outline and I can see the agony on Rhea's face. I decide to distract her from the pain by playing 100 Little Deaths for her to listen to. She nods her head along to the heavier parts of the song.

"You wouldn't believe who co-wrote this song with me," I say. Rhea's brow raised. "Aleister."

"_Really?_ I never knew he had songwriting in him," Rhea tells me and I nod.

"Neither did I. He wrote the lines '_I was born between the church and the devil in the dirt with one hand to the sky' and 'Well, you just never know if there's a gift in the curse, you just never know if there's a gift in the hurt._'" I explain. "I never would have thought those things when I wrote this song originally. But he changed the lines to these ones and obviously, it works really well."

"It does. You need to have him come in and work on songs with you from now on. Because this one is incredible." Rhea smiles at me.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Rhea's mandala outline is done and now she has to let it heal for two weeks before it can be colored back in.

We then take off from the tattoo shop and Rhea drives me back home. When I walk in the door, Aleister's waiting for me with a soft smile on his face. He takes my hand and I extend my arm out a bit- even though it's really sore for him to see my tattoo more and he gently runs his fingers across my tattoo.

"It looks even better in person," Aleister murmurs and I smile. I kiss him on the cheek and I wrap my less painful arm around his neck.

"I'm glad you like it," I whisper. He smiles and places a soft kiss onto my lips. He rubs my back sweetly. "You're everything to me, Shadow."

"I better be because you have me tattooed on you, Little Crow." Aleister teases and I roll my eyes as I punch him playfully and he laughs.

"I was trying to be cute and you ruined it," I mutter and he places a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I'm sorry, babe. I do love it. It means so much to me." He runs his hand through my hair as he holds me in his arms and I lay my head on his chest. Even though that was absolutely absurd, I'm glad he loves my tattoo.


End file.
